THE  LIBRARY 

OF 

THH  UNIVERSITY 

OI'CALHORNIA 

LOS  ANGELES 


c,u  r  I.IF 


JAPAN   AT  THE  CROSS  ROADS 


JAPAN  AT  THE 
CROSS  ROADS 


A.    M.    POOLEY 

I.ATK    KXHIIUTIONKK    OK    Cl.AKK    COUJCdK,    LAMKKIIX.K 

KIMTOK    OK    "TIIK    SKCKKT    MKMOIKS   OK 

COfXT    IIAYASIII,"    ETC.,    KTC. 


NEW    YORK 

DODD,     MEAD    AND    COMPANY 


/•  it 


7 


THE    AUTHOR    TAKES    TIIK    LIBERTY 

OF    INSCRIBING    THIS    VOLUME    TO   THE    KIND 

SENDERS    OF    SOME    BOXES    OF 

DELICIOUS    VIOLETS, 

WHO    OTHERWISE    MAY    NEVER    KNOW    HOW    DEEPLY 

THEY    WERE    APPRECIATED    AND    WHAT 

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fil 

V 


PREFACE 

INVITED  by  the  publishers  to  contribute  a  volume  on 
conditions  in  Japan  at  the  opening  of  the  Taisho  Era, 
th<-  following  chapters  were  written  during  the  summer 
of  1915  for  inclusion  in  a  considerably  larger  volume 
than  the  present  one.  It  being  impossible  to  publish 
the  complete  work  during  the  continuance  of  the  War, 
the  chapters  dealing  •with  internal  affairs  have  been 
segregated  and  are  offered  herewith. 

As  in  part  the  author  covers  the  same  ground  as 
Professor  W..  \VJ.  McClarcn  in  his  Political  History  of 
Japan,  arriving  at  identical  conclusions  in  practically  the 
same  words,  it  is  allowable  to  point  out  that  he  had  not 
the  advantage  of  seeing  Professor  McClaren's  excellent 
work  until  some  months  after  the  MS.  of  the  present 
book  had  been  completed  and  delivered  to  the  pub- 
lishers (August,  1915).  The  only  changes  since  made 
therein  have  been  the  additions  necessary  to  bring  the 
bare  essentials  of  1915  and  1916  under  notice,  which 
additions  are  indicated  in  the  text.  The  author  ha« 
principally  relied  on  notes  taken  during  his  residence 
in  Tokyo — twelve  boxes  full — but  no  one  venturing  to 
write  on  Japan  can  afford  to  ignore  the  files  of  the 
foreign  Press  of  that  country.  Especially  have  the 
columns  of  The  Japan  Mail  and  The  Japan  Chronicle 
been  laid  under  contribution.  To  the  latter  journal  in 
particular  is  the  author  indebted,  not  only  in  the  com- 


8  I'RKFACE 

position  of  this  volume,  but  throughout  his  stay  in  Japan. 
Its  pages  an-  an  inexhaustible  mine  of  scholarly  research, 
sane  criticism,  and  sound  patriotism. 

The  section  on  Japanese  C'ourt  Ladies  appeared  in 
The  Contemporary  Review  of  November,  1913,  and  part 
of  it  and  various  other  jx)rtions  of  the  Ixxik  have  appeared 
from  time  to  time  in  Russian  and  Kn^rli>h  journals. 

LONDON.  April  (>,  i<n~- 


CONTENTS 


PACK 

INTRODUCTORY  .  .  " 

CHAPTKR    ON'K 
KMHKROR   WORSHIP     ....  •      23 

CHA1JTKR    TWO 
POLITICS  .....  •      1() 

CHAPTKR    THKKK 
POLITICS  (continued)    ...  .     161 

CHAPTKR    KOTR 
FINANCK,    INDUSTRY,   AND   COMMERCE  .     igi 

CHA1TKR    K1VK 
FINANCE,    INDTSTKY,  A\D   COMMKKCI-;  (c^nliiiucJ)  .  .  .     22^ 

CHAPTKR    SIX 
SOCIAL   CONDITIONS  .  .     2SS> 


CHAPTKR    SKVKN" 
SOCIAL   CONDITIONS  (continued)          ...  .     _^o 

CHAPI'KR    KIC.HT 
RELIGION  .  ....  .     340 


INTRODUCTORY 

IT  used  to  he  a  common  saving  that  the  most  far- 
reaching  event  in  the  political  history  of  the  last  genera- 
tion was  the  rise  of  Japan,  a^  the  result  of  the  Restoration 
of  1808. 

Whether  the  statement  was  as  true  as  it  was  trite 
remains  to  he  seen.  The  historian  of  posterity  will 
in  all  likelihood  consider  the  Reconstruction  of  the 
Ciernian  Kmpire  in  1871  as  an  event  of  far  greater 
consequence,  both  in  its  immediate  and  ultimate  effects, 
than  the  adoption  of  Western  standards  of  civilization 
by  a  non -Aryan  race.  It  may  well  he  that  the  chronicler 
of  the  future  will  find  the  Unification  of  Italy  to  be 
as  pregnant  with  momentous  surprises,  whilst  the  ampu- 
tation of  the  Spanish  colonies  by  the  United  States 
and  the  awakening  of  American  understanding  to  a 
realization  of  the  responsibilities  of  the  United  States 
towards  her  own  citizens,  and  to  the  world  at  large, 
have  already  had  more  intensive  and  extensive  influence 
throughout  the  world  than  all  Japan's  victories  over 
China  or  Russia. 

Various  estimates  have  been  attempted  of  the  results 
which  the  creation  of  a  new  '  Power  '  in  the  Pacific 
might  be  expected  to  produce.  Subsequent  develop- 
ments have,  however,  clearly  proved  that  the  time  for 
anything  like  a  precise  calculation  has  not  yet  arrived. 

In  some  respects  the  reaction  on  world-politics  has 
been  much  stronger  than  any  writer  was  able  to  imagine. 
In  other  directions  the  expected  influence  of  Japan  has 
proved  a  pra  tically  negligibl-  quantity. 

.Who.    for    example,     would    have    dreamed     ten    years 


12  INTRODUCTORY 

ago  th.i;  Japan,  in  alliance  with  Ivngland  aiul  Russia, 
would  have  reconquered  Kiao-' hau  from  Germany  for 
eventual  restoration  to  <  'hina  ?  <  )n  the  other  hand,  to 
what  extent  have  tin-  predi<  ted  menaces  of  Japan  against 
the  Philippines  or  Australia  been  reali/ed?  Or  again, 
how  nun  h  nearer  is  Japan  to-day  to  the  place-  allotted 
her  by  the  {x>liti<\il  augurs,  and  towards  which  she  is 
said  to  If  -tnving  a-  th"  leader  of  Asiatic  hegemom 
against  the  white  race-,? 

It  i-  interesting  and  instructive  to  examine  the  premise* 
on  wliich  j>oliti' al  seribcs  have  based  their  conclusions. 
In  my  humble  opinion  those  conclusions  are  wrong  because 
they  are  primarily  founded  on  one  simple  illusion. 

In  ev'-ry  lx>ok  that  has  ever  been  written  on  japan, 
the  statement  will  be  found  under  one  form  or  another, 
that  in  the  short  space  of  halt  a  century  Japan  has. 
risen  from  a  <<»ndition  ot  barbarism  to  be  one  of  the 
•  in  .it  1'owers  of  the  world. 

It  is  true  that  Japan  is  a  (Ireat  Tower  :  it  is  not 
Hue  that  fifty  year-  ago  she  was  in  a  st.ite  of  barbarism. 
It  would  !>••  hard!)  true  to  say  th.it  >he  was  in  a  state 
of  medi.i  vali-m,  so  tar  as  the  essentials  of  legislation 
and  administration  were  concerned. 

To  number  Japan  of  i.Xo.X  amongst  the  barbarian 
nation-  i-  to  confess  to  a  painful  ignoran.  e  of  the  insti- 
lut'on-  ot  the  (oiintry  and  ot  its  history.  It  is  al-o  to 
pred.  ate  a  similar  iiinoraii'  e  on  the  part  ot  the  reader 

\\  h'  :i  (  omniodore  Pen\  kno,  krd  at  the  doors  ot 
\  i  d"  and  d'-manded  adnnt'an c.  we  lind  no  admission 
on  hi-  part  that  he  had  to  deal  uith  barbai  ians .  (  »n 
the  inntrary.  \\>-  -a:!  that  the  fapan  •-<•  weie  a  i  ultuied 
and  int  1  i^ent  j>e<  iple . 

The;,  were  |>o--e^cd  ot  a  naturally  keen  Hltelligf-ii'  e, 
u!r.'  h  h.id  be.  ;i  1:0:111  -bed  lor  i  entmie^  on  the  philosophy 
"t  .Nun/,  .md  h.u  j»-!i'-'i  in  (lie  i>-n;nr.  ot  early  tmei-n 
iiifi  I- oiit-e  'e-.  the  t  a  lung-,  ot  the  |e-Mii  I.i'h'-ts  i(n-\ 

h.i'i     ia'e'ii      b'lt     "re.it      [c    .-!\i-    ot        tre:i;;t||    :       tl|i       Illal  \  ellon- 

ij  .1    it.     I.,:     -.r      ril     itioti,    .it     v\hi    !i    the    \\oild     ha-     -llh  e 

v. '  ;  i'  1'  ; «  <  I .    i       in  he  re- it     in    'In-m         ili'ii     in  -t  it  nt  ion*-     were 


INTRODUCTORY  13 

based  on  the  family  .system,  tin-  most  .stable  of  all  political 
units  :  their  military  arts  wen-  highly  developed,  as 
was  natural  amongst  a  race  of  lighting -men  ;  to  organi/e, 
equip,  and  transj>ort  an  army  of  from  100,000  to  250,000 
men  for  service  abroad  was  in  Japan  no  unknown 
feat  hundreds  of  years  before  Napoleon  lived  and  led 
in  Europe.  So  far  from  Japan  being  cut  off  from 
the  outer  world,  she  had  had  in  the  seventeenth  century 
very  close  contact  with  Europe  through  missionaries  and 
traders,  and  even  after  the  jxjlicy  of  seclusion  was 
initiated,  a  colony  of  Dutch  was  permitted  at  Deshima, 
near  Nagasaki.  This,  with  the  annual  batch  of  students 
sent  abroad  by  the  liukufn,  formed  the  medium  through 
which  the  rulers  of  Japan  maintained  a  watch  upon  the 
happenings  of  the-  outer  world  and  acquired  a  very- 
fair  knowledge  of  the  trend  of  W.estern  civili/ation.  It 
is  more  than  a  little  interesting  to  note  that  vaccination 
was  introduced  as  early  as  1847,  whilst  Alcock,  Adams, 
and  other  diplomats  of  prc-Restoration  days  found  rilled 
cannon  in  abundance  in  the  possession  of  the  great 
daimyo . 

The  reports  of  the  Dutch  factors  record  the  import 
of  matchlocks  and  muskets,  and  a  constant  demand  for 
European  scientific  publications.  Siebold  found  a  very 
high  standard  of  medical  and  astronomical  learning  ; 
that  woodtyping  and  stereotyping  were  well  known  ;  that 
mathematics,  trigonometry,  and  civil  engineering  were 
studied  ;  that  canals,  lathes,  and  water-mills  were  all 
in  use,  though  in  some  directions  mechanics  were  not 
encouraged,  under  the  fear  that  the  introduction  of 
machinery  might  displace  labour  and  create  unrest.  There 
was  an  efficient  postal  service  long  before  the  opening 
by  Perry,  and  bills  of  exchange  were  a  common  mercantile 
convenience.  In  casting  a  contempt  for  proportion  in 
no  way  affected  the  merit  of  the  work,  whilst  in  lacquer, 
silk,  metallurgy,  and  horticulture  the  natives  had  little, 
if  anything,  to  learn  from  abroad. 

So  far,  therefore,  from  the  Japanese  of  Commander 
Perrv's  time  being  barbarians,  thev  had  attained  to  a 


14  INTRODUCTORY 

comparatively  high  .state  of  i  ivih/ation,  whether  that  word 
is  understood  or  misunderstood  in  term-;  of  art,  science. 
politics,  or  warfare. 

It  is  more  correct  to  say  that  when  the  so-called  '  re- 
opening '  of  Japan  took  place  the  Japanese  wen-  in  a 
state  of  mental  stagnation.  They  were  ready  for  a 
change,  hut  the  necessary  impetus  and  model  had  to  come 
from  without . 

The  history  of  Japan  lias  been  one  of  adoption  and 
assimilation.  Nothing  in  the  country  is  pure  and  original. 

The  Buddhism  which  for  a  thousand  years  tilled  the 
place  of  a  state  religion  was  imported  from  Korea. 
It  is  a  concoction  of  Confucianism,  Taoism,  and  Chinese 
Buddhism.  It  was  taught  to  the  Japanese  in  return  for 
naval  and  military  aid  sent  to  the  King  of  Pakche,  one 
of  the  composite  kingdoms  later  included  in  the  Empire 
of  Korea. 

The  reform.-,  of  Taikwa  <A.T">.  6.15),  considered  hv 
historians  as  an  even  greater  revolution  than  that  which 
opened  the  Meiji  KIM,  consisted  of  the  transplantation 
ot  the  Chines"  >ystems  of  administration  across  the  Yellow 
Sea  to  Japan. 

Th<-  first  law  code  was  l*>rrowed  from  China,  a> 
was  the  oath  ot  allegiance,  and  even  the  design  of  the 
(  <  -urt  robe  > . 

Kven  hu^hido  is  not  a  Japanese  virtue,  hut  was  im- 
bibed from  th"  Sn:i  l\m>  f.'/ii/i  }'fn,  th<-  greatest  historn  al 
noM-1  of  any  time,  and  as  Professor  Chamberlain  has 
explained  in  his  (Creation  of  a  .Wir  A',  /  .','.<;//.  the  word 
\\.i-.  not  evn  i  oiued  until  well  on  in  the  reign  of  the  late 
Kni|;eror  Mutsuhito.1 

<  otint  Okuma,  more  tamou-  as  an  educationalist  than 
as  a  statesman,  has  nut  on  record  that  the  pnncip.il 

1    Mr.     J.>h:i     C    i- 1  v     ll.i'il.    C'.I',  ,     I.S.O..    wntf-    in    hi-    .titio-in    . 
J.ip  :r,''     <', ,:,!!!,;  mi   ::i  :      '  I ).  /.n    S'aml.u.    nnr   <>f    tin-  i:U'<-l    t-initu  :  : 
:itttl:>  •:  >  <  I  (      ;i!'u  i  1:1  1 1  i. .[  ::i  in  h. i-  /.':.  ':..'i.  S/':      i  In-  \\'.i\  -,   I  )i  -i  i  iiuin.il i  • : 
n.  v-  •    ...  M    i:ifntt;.:.i     f'tt:!:i,t  >.  pn-i  .il-lv    !•<  .  ;I,I.M-   ihr    M,^  ,,!!..!  U.,v    •  ; 
V.    '.•  •:;  -A. i  .  .1     \  i  :   !  u  t  :.i    w  •;,:!'  <  ft    1  inn  .  .1  1 1  i.-if.  \<\  ;•  -u  n  •  n  '.  i  <\    !'.  •:    ',  in 
,i    Hill     ;:i.C:     .:     •:   .t   i.i'i  i      i.i\ 


INTRODUCTORY  15 

characteristic  of  his  countrymen  is  the  power  to  n»irni- 
latc.1  Ho  carried  this  further  in  a  speech  delivered  to 
the  Osaka  Bankers'  Association  in  August,  1014,  when 
he  said  that  his  countrymen  could  "  copy  and  imitate, 
but  neither  initiate  nor  invent."  3 

The  early  and  mediaeval  periods  of  Japan  were  respec- 
tively deeply  influenced  by  Korea  and  China  ;  then 
came  an  age  when  the  influence  of  Europe  wielded 
through  the  missionaries  and  traders  was  strong  ;  then 
followed  the  era  of  seclusion,  tempered,  nevertheless,  by 
a  current  of  Dutch  influences  via  Dcshima.  In  1853 
commenced  the  great  period  of  .Western  influence, 
wielded  principally  by  England,  supported  by  America 
and  Germany.  Since  the  Russo-Japanese  War  English 
influence  has  been  distinctly  on  the  wane,  and  Teutonic 
views  have  correspondingly  gained. 

It  is  not  with  any  view  of  depreciating  Japanese 
progress,  or  of  minimizing  its  importance,  that  the  writer 
has,  after  long  and  careful  consideration,  concluded  that 
the  popular  conception  of  Japan  is  highly  erroneous, 
and  that  botli  the  achievements  and  the  resources  of  the 
country  have  been  vastly  overrated. 

Probably  within  the  history  of  newspaperdom  no  nation 
has  received  so  unanimously  beneficent  a  '  press  '  as 
Japan  did  before,  during,  and  after  the  war  with  Russia. 
It  was  literally  almost  impossible  to  open  a  newspaper 
or  magazine  without  finding  some  article  of  fulsome 
eulogy  and  praise  for  Britain's  Far  Eastern  Allies.  City 
mcn  will  confirm  the  statement  that  the  mere  mention  of 
Japan  on  a  prospectus  was  enough  to  untie  the  purse- 
strings  of  the  most  hardened  investor.  Japan  for  a 
time  exercised  an  hypnotic  influence  on  the  British  public, 
and  the  effect  is  only  now  beginning  to  wear  off. 

Reference  has  already  been  made  to  the  inherent  genius 
of  the  Japanese  for  organization .  Never  has  that  genius 
been  displayed  to  greater  effect  than  in  the  conquest 
of  Great  Britain. 

1   Okumu,  Fift\  }'<vz;>  ,V"  \cu   'Jap 
3  'Japan  \Vcckl\  Chrcniclc,  Au^u> 


16  INTRODUCTORY 

Tlit  pivot  of  Japan's  policy  has  hitherto  ap|K>ared  in 
IK  North  China  and  Korea,  although  Korea  was,  and 
North  China  is,  only  a  means  to  an  end.  China  having 
been  disposed  of  in  18^5.  there  only  remained  two  Powers 
capable  of  blocking  Japan's  path.  One  of  these  was 
Russia,  the  other  (I real  Britain. 

'1  he  manner  in  which  Japan  had  'defeated  China,  and 
the  subsequent  progress  of  the  country,  had  given  the. 
British  public  a  justifiably  good  impression  of  the  island 
race. 

( >n  the  other  hand,  in  Russia  Japan  was  looked  upon 
as  an  interloper,  who  could  very  soon  lx-  kicked  out 
•  if  the  way.  The  Japanese  for  their  part  regarded  Russia 
as  an  ancient  enemy,  who,  by  forcing  the  retrocession 
of  I'ort  Arthur,  had  inflicted  on  her  an  almost  indelible 
humiliation. 

Nevertheless,  there  were  two  conflicting  parties  amongst 
the  Jaj  aii'-se  statesmen.  The  one,  headed  by  Ito,  was 
afraid  of  Rus-ia,  and  wished  for  an  alliance  with  that 
fountry.  The  other,  headed  by  Kat-ura,  desired  an 
alliance  with  Britain.  It  is  ancient  history  that  the 
latter  party  gained  the  day.  That  victory  was  to  a 
great  extent  due  to  the  Press  Bureau.  This  institution, 
though  officially  non-existent,  manipulated  a  complete 
ami  most  successful  '  corner  '  in  Japanese  new--.  When 
it  i>  remembered  that  the  rorres{x)iidence  of  Renter's. 
A-s4i,  iated  1'p-ss.  I  he  7////<'s,  A'<  ir  York  Sun,  I. all. in. 
/)ii;lv  I  ilt'^rafh  and  StunJ.ir^l  were  for  years  all  supplied 
either  by  foreigners  dire  tly  employee!  by  the  Japanese 

<  io\  eminent,  or  bv    Japanese  in  (iovernmeiit   emplo\,  then 
it    is    not    di.ii'iilf    to    imagine    that    the    ileus    was    aluavs 

<  oult  ur    df    rmr . 

Again,  in  every  Japanese  Legation  abroad  was  a 
.•seiietary  who  ~e  sole  dutv  was  to  suj)j)!y  p!ea-;ng  i '  "py 
!o  i!ie  re|«»rters. 

a'ta'hed  t-i  the  Foiei-n  Miii-tej.  \\a-  a 
'-tipply  <oul('ir  </<•  rn\f  impre-^oii  to  ilie 
-c.s'l  to  vi  Itoi  ..  lo'iil  ts,  e\ei)  laliioi:, 

'--is       uere          -l-o::a'.i,       r  o]i>  Ilicted,          Mpjihed 


INTRODUCTORY  17 

with  carefully  edited  material,  and  in  some  cases 
with  a  guarantee  for  so  many  hundred  copies  of 
any  proposed  volume  on  Japan  embodying  the  gratis 
subject-matter. 

When  the  war  with  Russia  occurred  delegates  were 
sent  to  the  neutral  countries  to  '  maintain  a  favourable 
public  opinion.'  Viscount  Suyematsu  was  sent  to  Eng- 
land, and  very  ably  he  did  his  work.  Viscount  Kaneko 
filled  the  same  role  in  America. 

After  the  Russian  War  the  special  correspondents  from 
Europe  and  the  States  were  withdrawn.  The  news  again 
relapsed  under  Japanese  control.  The  only  change,  but 
not  one  for  the  better,  was  in  1 906,  when  the  American 
Associated  Press  sent  out  a  correspondent,  Mr.  J.  R. 
Kennedy,  who  soon  proved  himself  more  Japanophile 
than  the  Japanese,  and  who,  shortly  after  the  visit  of 
the  American  battleship  fleet,  was  the  recipient  of  a 
high  decoration  from  the  Japanese  Government,  for  his 
services  as  an  '  uncrowned  Ambassador  '  in  influencing 
American  public  opinion.  This  gentleman  is  now  the 
head  of  the  International  News  Agency  of  Japan,  a 
semi-official  concern,  which  controls  the  Reuter  service, 
the  semi-official  Japan  Times  and  Japan  Mail,  and 
the  correspondence  of  the  New  York  Herald,  Christian 
Science  Monitor,  and  other  American  papers,  besides 
having  alliances  with  the  Havas,  Associated  Press,  and 
Stefani  Agencies. 

In  an  Oriental  country  the  original  sources  of  infor- 
mation available  to  a  foreigner  are  strictly  limited,  and 
must  to  a  considerable  extent  remain  so.  In  Japan  in 
particular  is  this  the  case.  Not  only  is  the  ideograph 
the  boundary  of  first-hand  knowledge,  if  written  sources 
are  required,  but  the  people  themselves,  and  officials 
in  particular,  have  not  learned,  during  fifty  years  of 
foreign  intercourse,  to  lightly  drop  the  seclusion  and 
secretiveness  of  insular  isolation.  Just  as  the  Japanese 
keeps  a  suit  of  foreign  clothes  and  a  suite  of  foreign 
rooms  for  the  benefit  of  his  foreign  visitors,  so  he  has 
a  separate  set  of  ideas  for  their  consumption. 

2 


i8  INTRODUCTORY 

That  the  world  is  now  in  possession  of  far  greater 
and  more  exact  knowledge  of  what  is  really  passing) 
in  the  country,  and  of  wliat  is  in  the  minds  of  the  jx-ople. 
ii>  due  in  part  to  the  hiatus  of  two  years,  wlfc'ii  tin- 
foreign  news  services  were  subtracted  from  Japanese 
control,  but  principally  to  the  development  of  the  spirit 
of  introspection  amongst  the  Japanese  themselves.  The 
vernacular  press,  during  a  period  of  four  years  previous 
to  the  opening  of  the  (ireat  W«ar  in  Europe,  succeeded 
in  wresting  from  the  authorities  a  considerable  degree 
uf  freedom,  and  using  that  freedom  for  the  national 
advantage,  obtained  the  promise  of  many,  and  the  in- 
ception of  a  few,  sound  reforms.  Unscrupulous  and 
dastardly  as  the  vernacular  press  often  shows  itself,  the 
nation  owes  it  thanks  for  all  of  the  most  important  legis- 
lation of  re  ent  years.  In  one  important  respect,  however, 
the  pre-s  is  utterly  subservient  to  the  bureaucracy  and 
the  «apitalists.  Kyobashi.  the  <  iaimiisho  and  Nihonbashi 
are  at  one  in  an  insistence  on  an  aggressive  foreign  jx>licy, 
and  there  is  only  too  certain  proot  that  the  violent 
tirades  against  China  find  their  inspiration  in  the  Foreign 
<  Hi;i  e  and  (he  War  (  Mrice.  where  they  serve  factional 
interests,  and  are  ta<itly  sup|>orted  by  the  other  I)epan- 
ments  of  State,  as  convenient  red  herrings  ai  ros-,  the 
path  of  -o  ial  ami  economic  reform. 

I  may  -hoitly  consider  the  statement  repeatedly  made 
that  Japan  I-  fated  to  be  the  leader  of  the  Asiatii  rates 
again-t  the  ('auca-ian  ones.  This  is  the  much-talked-ol 
YI  l!ou  I'dil.  I'nder  certain  londitions  this  may  uell 
ottur.  Tho->e  conditions  are  the  continuation  of  the  MI  it 
;K  cjtlirM  ence  by  (iieat  I'ntain,  a!id  the  active  support  b\ 
Ku  — la  and  1'iatie.-  of  Japan's  aggressive  poll  v  to\\aid-- 
•hlli. i.  In  that  event  the  <  iim<'-e  may  be  e\pei{ed  to 
th'Ml  attitude.  ainf  Join  the  Japanese  in  a!!  e\i  111  loll 
,  diret  t'-d  a;.ai;i-t  th«'  \\hiti--..  and  e\cn!uali\  de 

lopi;ig     into     a     ra>e    U.ir.         No    one,     looking     ba>  k     o\ei 
Iop'e's     i   VIlli  .il     illsre;;aid     'if     her     pledge's    alld     pltillil-i-    . 

uld    bi.Uli'-    <  'hina     for     siii  li    a     e'nursr. 

.So    far     Jap. 1:1    ha-    Hot    made   aiiv    real   pto:;ic,,   to\^ard- 


INTRODUCTORY  19 

the  dictatorship  of  Asia.  Given  normal  conditions,  and 
what  would  he  an  abnormal  hut  reasonable  development 
of  British  policy,  and  she  will  make  no  real  progress  in 
the  future.  I  admit  that  this  is  the  eventual  goal  to  which 
Japanese  eyes  are  directed,  but  even  such  astute  states- 
men as  Prince  Katsura  and  Baron  Kato  have  expressed 
their  doubts  as  to  the  ultimate  possibility  of  success.  The 
late  Prince  Katsura  in  a  conversation  which  I  had  with 
him  in  January,  1913,  discussed  this  matter.  He  most 
emphatically  denied  the  suggestion  that  Japan  had  such 
aims.  Ignoring  the  interpreter,  ha  broke  into  German, 
and  said,  '  There  are  people  who  think  such  things. 
They  are  stupids,  who  repeat  what  they  are  paid  to  say, 
and  are  causing  very  serious  trouble  in  our  diplomatic 
affairs."  The  late  Prince  made  no  secret  of  the  fact 
that  the  homes  of  this  belief  lay  in  a  section  of  the  army 
and  amongst  a  group  of  highly  placed  financiers  in 
Tokyo. 

Count  Okuma  in  1914  put  on  record  his  belief  that 
Japan  has  no  equipment  to  lead  Asia,  arguing  that  beyond 
the  assimilation  of  a  certain  amount  of  Western  civiliza- 
tion, a  veneer  of  modernity  and  strong  military  forces, 
Japan  has  nothing  else  on  which  she  can  claim  to  be  a 
Great  Power.  These  views  are  strikingly  similar  to 
those  of  the  late  Count  Hayashi  Tadasu.  Count  Okuma 
continued  the  speech  referred  to  by  expressing  a  strong 
disbelief  that  China  can  ever  be  regenerated.  This, 
however,  must  be  regarded  as  a  wish  rather  than  a 
thought.  It  is  unreasonable  to  imagine  that  a  country, 
which  was  a  great  Empire  in  the  dimmest  ages,  which 
produced  then  a  civilization  and  a  morality  which  has 
endured  to  the  present,  is  incapable  of  adjusting  itself 
to  modern  conditions — if  allowed  to  do  so.  It  is  almost 
an  impertinence  for  Japan,  which  has  made  no  original 
contribution,  scientific  or  intellectual,  to  modern  civiliza- 
tion to  disparage  the  country  from  whom  she  has 
borrowed  her  own  ethics,  art,  manners,  language,  and 
religion. 

On  the  other  hand,   Count  Okuma  claims   that  Japan 


20  INTRODUCTORY 

has  a  mission  as  the  mediator  and  modificator  between 
Mast  and  West.  Japan,  in  other  words,  is  to  be  the 
half -caste  nation  of  Eastern  and  Western  civilizations. 
Whether  Japan  can  ever  fulfil  that  mission  the  Japanese 
Premier  doubts,  because  of  her  dependence  on  Kuro|>e 
and  America,  and  because  of  her  insignificant  posses- 
sions-' a  bare  2t',0  th  of  the  world's  surface,  a  commerce 
smaller  than  that  of  the  smallest  luirojx-an  Power,  and 
an  economy  inferior  to  even  that  of  China.'  This  is  the 
Ircquent  error,  the  malevolent  influence  of  German 
thought,  that  a  nation  must  be  judged  by  what  it  has 
and  not  by  what  it  is. 

The  spirit  of  self -analysis  has  been,  during  the  last 
few  years,  rampant  in  Japan.  It  has  caused  a  consider- 
able depression  throughout  the  country.  The  trend  of 
thought  appears  to  he— "Here  are  we  victors  in  two 
great  wars,  one  over  an  Asiatic  Empire,  the  other  over 
.1  Kuropean.  W/e  are  allied  with  the  maritime  and 
financial  Power  of  Europe.  Our  flag  is  llown  on  every 
sea.  Diplomatically  we  are  treated  as  equals  in  every 
country.  .We  have  a  modern  army,  a  modern  navy,  a 
modern  tariff,  expanding  industries,  commerce,  and  emi- 
gration. Yet,  in  spite  of  all  this,  wherever  we  go  we 
an-  unpopular  ;  we  are  distrusted  by  everybody.  At 
home  social  unrest  is  increasing  and  economic  conditions 
are  de-perate.  iWJiy  is  it? 

lip-  old  belief  that  the  Japanese  are  a  race  of  diminutive 
-upermen  die>  hard,  but  dying  it  is.  The  Japanese 
an-  an  extremely  brave  and  brainy  nation  of  M.il.ty  origin. 
'1  In  y  have  in  a  very  short  space  of  time  adopted  the 
habit->  and  <  ustom^  of  the  ()<  cident,  and  lai  Iced  them  on 
to  their  ou:i.  1  "h«-y  are,  hard  a>  it  may  be  for  (In-  [.ipan 
So'  iety  and  kindred  bodie-,  to  believe,  ju^t  human-*  with 
human  faults  and  human  virtues.  They  have  a  high 
tod--  of  military  ethi  ^,  and  a  supreme  but  painfully 
rno'i'in  sense  oi  patriotism.  1  heir  moral  M-nse  is  low. 
:he\  arc  no!  iri'!:i-trio'i>,  their  intelligeix  e  i>  imitative  but 
riot  nnti.itiv.  v.ii,i  t  their  amiiitiou  i->  Itlcml' <1  urli  an 
*  fo:luna'«' a/^rfs  i\-  -f;e  <-  aMd  a  d«-[)l'»ral>le  •  en-itivt-nr-. 


INTRODUCTORY  21 

Mr.  Aubrey  Stanhope  records  an  interview  with  the 
late  Queen  Draga  of  Servia,  which  Her  Majesty  patheti- 
cally concluded  with  the  words,  "  Ditcs  bicn  de  nous, 
Monsieur  !  "  With  the  Japanese  it  is  always  '  Ditcs 
bien  de  nous.'  President  Taft,  when  in  Japan,  remarked 
to  the  late  Count  Mayashi  on  the  touchiness  of  his  com- 
patriots, on  their  fear  and  resentment  of  criticism.  The 
Japanese  statesman  said,  "  My  countrymen  are  suffering 
from  patriotic  self-conceit."  It  is  the  commonest  fault 
of  the  country  to  mistake  irritable  self-complacency  for 
patriotism.  Permission  to  criticize  is  inexorably  refused. 
The  traveller  comes  to  see,  he  must  stay  to  praise.  The 
national  attitude  to  foreigners  is  either  contemptuously 
patronixing  or  insulting.  Whichever  it  may  be,  no 
foreigner  is  credited  with  even  the  threat  of  intelligence. 
The  wonderful  publicity  campaign,  to  which  I  referred 
earlier,  and  to  which  I  shall  have  to  refer  again,  was  one 
continuous,  high-pitched,  eulogistic  misrepresentation. 
What  really  were  the  crude,  incoherent,  rough-shaped 
beginnings  of  a  new  State  were  placed  before  the  world 
as  imposing  ideals  of  morality  and  character.  The 
rhapsody  of  self-praise  obliterated  from  view  the  network 
of  industrial,  political,  social,  and  economic  problems, 
which  are  the  birthright  of  every  nation,  and  no  more  to 
be  evaded  by  Japan  than  by  Germany,  Australia,  or 
America.  Criticism  is  perhaps  bitter  to  the  palate,  but 
as  necessary  to  the  body  politic  as  medicine  to  the  body 
physical.  Every  war  has  its  regrettable  incidents  as 
every  nation's  history  has  its  record  of  mistakes.  Hesi- 
tation to  face  cither  the  one  or  the  other  means  failure, 
an  attractive  failure  perhaps,  but  none  the  less  failure. 

Great  as  Japan's  successes  have  been,  though  not  so 
great  as  she  would  have  the  world  believe,  she  has  now 
to  decide  whether  she  will  be  a  nation  of  promise  or 
one  of  achievement.  The  reward  of  the  latter  is  eternal 
fame,  of  the  other  a  page  or  two  in  history  as  a  '  has 
been  '  or  '  might-have-been.' 

Dreadnoughts,  machine -grins,  gold  currency  and  braid, 
electric  railways  and  imported  tailorings  arc  at  best 


22  INTRODUCTORY 

only  accessories.  Poverty,  mortality,  and  crime,  and  the 
conditions  of  the  subject  races  are  the  true  barometers 
of  national  welfare.  In  Japan  the  prisons  are  chronically 
overcrowded,  the  taxes  overwhelmingly  heavy,  and  the 
death-rate  unduly  high. 

Many  thinking  Japanese  readily  acknowledge  the 
burdens  under  which  their  country  is  sulTering,  and  m 
m<>st  cases  attribute  it  to  the  continuance  of  the  bureau- 
cratic system,  which  penetrates  and  endangers  every  class 
of  society.  But  whilst  scientifically  they  regret  these 
thing-,  they  balance  against  them  the  benefits  \vhich 
Japan  has  gained  in  the  past.  They  are  like  the  Athenian 
hctuira,  who  daily  visited  the  temples  and  prayed,  "  May 
the  good  gods  make  me  (-haste— but  not  yet." 

It  is  generally  conceded  that  when  the  Teutonic  ques- 
tion has  been  settled,  the  next  problem  the  world  will 
be  set  to  solve  will  be  that  of  the  Pacific.  In  t he- 
solution  ('treat  Britain,  America,  and  Japan  will  be  vitally 
concerned. 

The  object  of  this  volume  is  not  to  predict  the  future. 
It  is  an  attempt  to  delineate;  the  real  state  of  affairs  in 
Japan,  and  to  indicate  the  fortes  which  are  at  work 
moulding  public  opinion  and  the  directions  in  \\huh 
they  are  leading. 

(iiven  an  urate  data  the  moderately  intelligent  can 
drav.  their  own  conclusions. 


JAPAN    AT    THE    CROSS    ROADS 

CHAPTER    ONE 
EMPEROR    WORSHIP 

PART  I 

The  true  gentleman  observes  moderation  : 
The  mean  man  violates  it. 

CONFUCIUS. 

ON  official  publications  issued  in  Japan  will  be  found 
two  dates,  as  2576-1915.  The  former  group  repre- 
sents the  year  according  to  the  authorized  version  of 
Japajiese  history,  the  latter  the  year  according  to  the 
Christian  Era.  The  little  difference  of  six  hundred 
and  sixty  years  is  explained  by  the  Empire  not  having 
been  founded  until  the  reign  of  Jimmu  Tcnno,  the  first 
Emperor,  which  began  in  660  B.C. 

Since  that  time,  orthodox  history  relates,  the  Imperial 
power  has  descended  in  an  unbroken,  direct  line.  The 
Imperial  oath  taken  by  the  monarch  at  the  Accession 
ceremony  runs  :  '  Having,  by  the  virtues  of  the  glories 
of  our  Ancestors,  ascended  the  throne  of  a  lineal  suc- 
cession, unbroken  for  ages  eternal,'  etc.,  etc.  Even 
so  severe  a  critic  of  the  Japanese  system  of  govern- 
ment as  Professor  I'ehara  in  his  Political  Development 
of  Modern  Japan  writes  :  "  Eor  more  than  twenty-live 
centuries,  ever  since  the  embryo  of  their  national  life 
began  to  develop  under  the  leadership  of  the  first 
Emperor  Jimmu,  the  Japanese  have  always  lived  under 
one  and  the  same  government,  and  have  scrupulously 
maintained  their  ethnic  unity." 


24  JAPAN    AT   TUP:   CROSS    ROADS 

The  orthodox  profession  of  faith  is  as  follows  :  The 
Emperor  holds  his  power  by  reason  of  his  unbroken 
descent  from  Jimmu  Tenno,  the  first  Emperor,  who 
was  the  lineal  descendant  of  the  divinities,  who  created 
Japan.  Consequently  the  Eni|K-ror  is  himself  divine, 
and,  ipso  facto,  supreme  lord  of  Heaven  and  Earth. 
His  country  is  therefore  tin-  first  kingdom  of  the  world. 

The  natural  result  of  such  a  doctrine  has  been  to 
create  the  sentiment  that  the  Emperor  and  his  Ancestors 
are  sacrosanct  and  infallible  :  to  extort  an  implicit 
obedience  to  his  orders,  or  rather  to  orders  issued  in 
his  name,  and  to  establish  a  belief  that  Japan  is  as 
superior  to  every  other  nation  as  the  Mikado,  thanks 
to  his  alleged  divinity,  is  superior  to  the  common  ruck 
of  kings  and  emperors. 

The  doctrine  outlined  above  has  obtained  general 
acceptance  in  Japan  and  a  wide  acceptance  abroad. 
That  it  is  in  itself  unscientific  and  untrue  is  obvious, 
but  unfortunately  people  in  Japan  are  forbidden  to 
believe  otherwise,  and  people  outside  have  had  but  little 
opportunity  or  desire  to  judge  for  themselves  as  to  the 
correctness  or  otherwise  of  the  views  skilfully  elabo- 
rated for  their  benefit  by  the  publicity  department  of 
the  Japanese  bureaucracy. 

This  is  the  (iced,  outwardly  at  least,  of  every 
Japanese,  and  it  will  be  of  interest  to  see  how  it  has 
been  evolved,  what  it  -has  accomplished,  and  to  what 
it  is  leading. 

It  is  first  necessary  to  carry  the  reader  back  to 
prehistoric  times,  and  shortly  sket<  h  the  origins  of  tin- 
alleged  divinity  and  mythological  pedigree  of  the 
Imperial  family.  He  who  would  probe  the  matter 
a  jnndo  may  find  a  wealth  of  elaborate  detail  in  the 
researches  of  Aston,  Chamberlain,  Satow,  Murdoch, 
Hulbert,  and  Longford.  If  in  doing  so  he  finds  that 
most  of  the  modern  literature  upon  Japan  teems  with 
inaccuracies  and  untruth  he  mu-t  not  be  astonished. 
He  may  impute  it  with  jusine  to  the  morbid  hatred  of 
the  Japanese  themselves  to  adverse  criticism,  and  to 


EMPEROR   WORSHIP  25 

the  weakness  of  modern  journalists  and  authors,  who 
arc  more  willing  to  accept  a  brief  than  content  to 
record  facts  and  let  the  reading  public  draw  its  own 
deductions. 

A  considerable  portion  of  the  books  dealing  with 
Japan  published  during  the  last  twenty-five  years  have 
been  official  or  semi-official  productions,  such  as  Okuma's 
Fifty  Years  of  Modern  Japan,  Suyematsu's  The  Risen 
Japan,  and  Dr.  Nitobe's  ttushido,  which  are  only  incom- 
plete ,'md  inaccurate  records  of  historical  events,  jx.-r- 
versions  of  facts  to  suit  bureaucratic  ideas  of  history, 
or  else  volumes  subsidixed  by  financial  contributions 
or  official  inspirations.  It  is  a  matter  of  considerable 
regret  that  works  in  ,thc  vernacular,  even  when  trans- 
lated, are  generally  useless  to  the-  student.  A  letter 
before  me  from  a  well  -  known  Japanalogue  says  : 
'  Japanese  writers  seldom  or  never  conform  to  the 
rules  of  scientific  writing,  especially  when  dealing  with 
Japanese  history.  They  make  it  impossible  to  verify 
their  statements  by  leaving  out  all  references  to  the 
sources  of  their  information."  In  addition,  there  are 
few  Japanese  writers  who  have  not  an  axe  to  grind 
for  party,  clan,  or  family. 

After  the  introduction  of  Buddhism  the  upper  classes 
interested  themselves  in  scholarly  pursuits,  and  the  art 
of  writing  became  more  general  instead  of  being  the 
monopoly  of  the  corporation  of  Korean  scribes.  It 
was  in  A.D.  621  that  the  first  history  of  Japan  was 
written.  The  first  part  of  this,  The  History  of  the 
fimperors,  was  lost  ;  the  second  part,  The  History  of 
the  Country,  is  embodied  in  the  Kojiki  and  the  Nihonji. 

The  earliest  available  records  of  Japanese  history  are 
the  Kojiki,  or  Record  of  Ancient  Matters  '(A.D.  712), 
and  the  Ni/ionji,  or  Chronicles  of  Japan  (A.D.  7201. 
The  former  is,  like  the  Iliad,  a  transcription  of  ancient 
legends,  dictated  to  the  writer  by  one  or  more  persons, 
who  had  been  able  to  memorize  them.  The  /\ojiki, 
according  to  the  best  authorities,  contains  nothing  but 
oral  statements.  The  Nihonji,  on  the  other  hand,  is 


26  JAPAN    AT    THK    CROSS    ROADS 

a  connected  account  of  prehistoric  and  proto-historic 
event>,  compiled  back  to  the  introduction  of  writing 
(A.I>.  4001  fn»m  the  existent  documentary  evidence,  and 
as  regards  earlier  events  from  oral  tradition.  As  u-gaids 
the  credibility  of  the  happenings  related,  the  mytho- 
logical section  deserves  le>s  belief  than  the  legends 
of  early  Rome,  and  no  more,  than  the  curiously  similar 
legends  of  th'%  Kalevala  or  the  Red  Indians.  (It  may 
be  pointed  out  that  the  claims  of  ethnologists  that  the 
Japanese  are  related  to  both  the  Finns  and  the  Indians, 
are  largely  based  on  the  similarity  of  tlu-ir  earliest 
legends,  i 

AS  regards  the  Dark  Age-s  the  motto,  "  \\"here  there 
is  stroke  there  is  lire,"  applies  as  much  to  hi-tory  as 
to  anything  el>e.  \\"hilst  the  precise  details  given  in 
both  the  Recent  ;uid  the  (Chronicle  are  obviously  faked, 
the  main  events  are  correct,  especially  where  inter- 
national aitairs  are  dealt  with,  though  the  dates  M> 
meticulously  inserted  in  both  book.s  must  be  corn-' ted 
by  the  more  trustworthy  Chinese  and  Korean  accounts. 

A  further  reason  for  the  greatest  caution  in  utilizing 
the  Japanese  records  is  to  be  found  in  the  decree  o| 
Termini  Tenno,  wherein  he  ordered  the  production  ol 
an  ottici.d  history,  the  material  for  which  \\a>  !o  be 
•-elet  ted  ti'iin  the  a  va  i  la '  >  le  <  locunien  t  s  and  stories,  many 
of  whii  !i  i  ontain  "deviation-,  from  the  truth  and  ampli- 
ti'ations  by  falsehood."  Muido,  h  points  out  thai  the 
^elective  and  edi'oiid  work  of  the  \\  liters  (lf  the  Koj'.kt 
,md  \ihonji  has  resulted  tathi-i  in  the  production  ol 
uhat  the  ruler  ic/s//rc/  to  in-  believed  than  ol  uhai 
adualK  took  jila'e  a  failing  by  no  mean--  •  onlined 
to  ihe  ollii  ;al  writers  o|  the  earlier  times  of  ihe  F.mp:je 

Ai'ordmg  to  thi-  legend  ••  embodied  in  tin-  A'f'/'-A'?. 
in  ill'  tailhe,!  ann-  lba\'li  and  F.ailh  \\eie  i;o! 
•ep. irate,  but  I'lrni'-d  on'-  'haoti<  m.i->.  Ihe  pan-i 
and  more  Man  parent  poitinn  n»,c  up  .i:\<\  bi-tann 
I  leaven,  the  h<  .c.  i-T  and  more  opaque  -i-itl'-d  i!o\\n 
v.  a  i  d  and  \va  (  ailed  I  .a  i '  h  In  the 
1  1  e.i\  en  and  I  ai '  h  \  ariou  •>  -IK  >  <  •-  -ion  • 


EMPEROR    WORSHIP  27 

created.  There  were  various  generations  of  these  deities, 
the  last  live  of  which  consisted  of  pairs,  a  brother  and 
a  sister.  The  last  brother  and  sister  were  I/anagi 
and  Izanami. 

By  order  of  the  college  of  Deities  these  two  descended 
to  '  make,  consolidate,  and  give  birth  '  to  the-  drifting 
land.  From  the  Bridge  of  Heaven  they  thrust  down 
the  jewel  spear,  and  the  brine  which  dripped  from 
it  as  they  pulled  it  up  formed  the  island  of  Onogoro 
or  Awaji.  The  brother  and  sister  descended  to  that 
island  and  dwelt  on  it,  and  created  the  other  islands 
of  Japan.  Then  they  became  husband  and  wife,  learn- 
ing the  meaning  of  love  from  the  water-wagtails,  and 
gave  birth  to  between  thirty  and  forty  other  deities. 
In  giving  birth  to  the  last  of  these  Izanami  "  divinely 
retired,"  a  Court  euphemism  for  '  died.'  This  expres- 
sion is  still  used  in  Japan  in  connection  with  the  deaths 
of  members  of  the  Imperial  family. 

Izanagi,  despairing  in  his  loneliness,  visited  his  defunct 
spouse  in  Hades,  but,  having  violated  her  seclusion,  she 
chased  him  out  again,  aided  by  the  forces  of  the  Eight 
Thunder  Gods. 

After  this  adventure  Izanagi  purified  himself  in  a 
stream,  in  the  act  giving  birth  to  other  deities,  some 
springing  from  the  clothes  he  Hung  upon  the  river 
bank,  but  three  from  parts  of  his  body.  The  Sun- 
Goddess  sprang  from  his  left  eye,  the  Moon-God  from 
his  right  eye,  and  the  youngest  of  all,  Susa-no-wo 
(The  Impetuous  Male'),  from  his  nose. 

Among>t  these  three  deities  Izanagi  divided  his  in- 
heritance. The  Sun -Goddess  ascended  to  rule  in 
Heaven,  the  Moon-God  disappeared  to  rule  the  night, 
whilst  to  Susa-no-wo  was  allotted  the  ocean. 

For  a  reason  unexplained  Susa-no-wo  refused  to  rule 
the  water,  and  was  expelled  by  his  father.  He  then 
ascended  to  Heaven  to  see  his  sister,  the  Sun-Goddess. 

As  these  two  stood  on  the  banks  of  the  River  of 
Heaven  the  Sun-Goddess  took  her  brother's  sword,  broke 
it  into  three  pieces,  crunched  these  in  her  mouth,  and 


28  JAPAN    AT   THE   CROSS    ROADS 

blow  out  the  fragments.  The  action  of  her  divine 
breath  turned  the  fragments  into  three  female  deities. 
Susa-no-wo,  not  to  be  outdone,  took  the  jewels  which 
his  sister  wore,  crunched  these  in  his  mouth,  and  blew 
out  the  fragments,  which  by  his  divine  breath  were 
converted  into  five  male  deities.  The  Sun-Goddess, 
a^  ruler  of  Heaven,  claimed  the  males  as  her  progeny 
.md  allotted  the  females  to  her  brother.  The  latter, 
dissatisfied  with  this  exchange,  refused  to  agree,  and 
violently  assaulted  his  sister,  who  lied  into  a  cave, 
removing  her  effulgence  from  Heaven  and  Karth.  The 
resultant  darkness  mightily  inconvenienced  the  inhabit- 
ants of  both  spheres.  I'nder  the  leadership  of  the 
Moon -God  the  eight  hundred  myriad  deities  took  counsel 
together,  rescued  the  Sun-Goddess,  and  expelled  Susa- 
no-wo  to  earth  after  pulling  out  his  beard  and  his 
linger-  and  toe-nails. 

Susa-no-wo,  in  accordance  with  this  judgment,  (  ame 
down  from  Heaven  and  landed  in  Korea,  whence  he 
crossed  to  Id/umo,  in  Japan,  in  a  clay  boat.  In  Id/umo 
he  rescued  a  beautiful  maiden  from  an  eight-tailed 
dragon,  in  one  of  whose  tails  he  found  a  wonderful 
sword.  This  he  sent  back  to  the  Sun-Goddess,  pre- 
sumably as  a  peace-offering.  His  descendants  by  his 
marriage  with  the  rescued  maiden  ruled  Id/umo  to  the 
sixth  generation,  when  XMunuri  abdicated  in  obedience 
to  a  (oil!  lave  of  deities,  summoned  in  Heaven  to  di>,  usS 
and  de<  ide  the  affairs  of  Japan. 

Hi-  -u<  < v-.sor  was  Nimji-no-Mikoto.  grandchild  of  the 
Sun-Goddess  and  eldest  son  of  the  eldest  m.de  born 
from  the  fragments  of  the  jewels  crunched  by  Sus.i- 
rio-wn.  With  him  he  brought  the  '  I  )r.igon-sword.'  sent 
up  to  Heaven  by  Su-a-no-wo,  and  the  '  Muroi  <>l 
Heaven.'  tuo  <>f  the  insignia  of  a  Japanese  monarch  to 
ihi,  day.  In  his  train  tame  Amatsu-Koyane,  d:\ine 
aln  e  >tor  •  if  the  hou  ..-  <  »f  (•  \l  |  ;\\al  .1  . 

I  tie     ll'MVelih      lort'ge     «  le    e.-nd'1'!     nil     MoiJIlt       1. 1  k .  l«  1)  lllo 

in  KUIII.I--O,  tin,  making  Kagoshim.i  .i:id  the  Sat--:im,i 
•  ountiy  the  in -I  e.uthly  home  of  the  hnperi.il  familv 


KMPKROR    WORSHIP  29 

There  Niniji  had  an  intrigue  with  a  girl  of  the  neigh- 
bourhood, who  became  by  him  the  mother  of  three 
boys.  The  youngest  of  these,  Hodemi,  crossed  the 
seas  to  the  Dragon-land  (probably  Korea)  and  married 
the  daughter  of  the  Dragon-king,  and,  after  an  alliance 
with  this  monarch  had  been  consummated,  returned  to 
Japan,  and,  vanquishing  his  elder  brothers,  reigned  in 
Kurnaso  and  Id/umo.  His  son  married  his  aunt,  another 
daughter  of  the  Dragon-king,  and  the  youngest  of 
their  sons  was  Jimmu  Tenno,  first  Emperor  of  Japan 
(660  B.C. -5X4  B.C.). 

On  Jimmu  Tenno  devolved  the  task  of  unifying  tin- 
known  parts  of  Japan  and  extending  his  power  over 
the  unknown,  or  '  barbarian,'  provinces.  The  barbarians 
were  the  Ainus,  a  bare  remnant  of  whom  still  exist  in 
the  Hokkaido  to  the  north  and  in  the  Loochoo  Islands 
to  the  south. 

It  is  unnecessary  to  trace  the  history  of  Japan  through 
the  Dark  and  Mediaeval  Ages.  It  is  advisable  to  note 
that  the  first  religion  was  Shinto,  or  ancestor-worship, 
which  began  to  be  displaced  about  the  tenth  century 
by  a  form  of  Buddhism  imported  from  Korea.  The 
whole  of  the  early  history  of  the  country  is  vague  and 
unauthenticated.  Many  of  the  early  records  arc  worthy 
to  rank  amongst  the  masterpieces  of  forgery,  and  what 
little  is  known  about  those  times  can  only  be  extracted 
after  careful  collation  with  the  Chinese  and  Korean  rolls. 
That  there  was  frequent  and  close  connection  with  those 
two  countries  is  well  proven,  and  to  the  former  Japan 
vras  indebted  for  her  literature,  arts,  ethics,  and  adminis- 
trative system. 

With  the  gradual  organization  of  the  kingdom  the 
rulers  degenerated  from  active  government  to  thr  posi- 
tion of  rois  fdiniants,  with  the  result  that  the  civil  power 
was  absorbed  into  the  hands  of  one  family,  the  Fujiwara, 
who  had  a  double  advantage  over  their  rivals,  owing 
to  their  alleged  divine  descent  and  to  the  practical 
monopoly  of  supplying  the  Imperial  Consort.  The  motto 
of  the  Hapsburgs  is  equally  applicable  to  the  Fujiwaras. 


30  JAPAN    AT   TIIK    CROSS    ROADS 

The  direction  of  military  affairs  was  confided  to  an 
official  called  the  '  Shogun,'  the  Fujiwaras  retaining  for 
themselves  the  office  of  '  Kuainbaku  (rcgcnCi,  which 
became  hereditary  in  their  family.  The  creation  of  the 
post  of  '  Shogun,'  which  brought  as  a  necessary  corollary 
the  creation  of  a  military  caste,  led  to  a  series  of  internal 
disorders,  which  lasted  for  a  considerable  period.  They 
were  the  struggles  of  rival  generals  for  the  supreme 
military  jxwer.  and  involved  a  struggle  for  the  control 
of  the  Imperial  jxTson.  They  ended  with  the  complete 
victory  of  Yoritomo  and  the  establishment  of  the  hakufti, 
or  Shogun's  government,  at  Kamakura  in  1184. 

Voritomo's  victory  also  ended  the  career  of  the  Fuji- 
war. is  so  lar  as  administrative  power  was  concerned, 
though  to  this  day  their  daughters  make  worthy  mates 
for  the  Japanese  Mik;'do. 

Yoritoino  organi/ed  the  country  on  a  feudal  ba-is. 
Hitherto  the  provinces  and  districts  had  been  go\erned 
by  Kii'^t'  (Court  noblemen),  nominated  by  the  Imperial 
Court  of  Kyoto,  responsible  to  the  Knamhiiku,  and 
in  no  way  concerned  -with  the  Shogun.  These  /\n^f 
were  gradually  displaced  and  their  pi, tee  taken  by 
diiirnyo  (military  chiefs'),  to  whom  Yoritomo  had  forced 
the  Lmperor  to  grant  land,  or  by  ci\il  servants  appointed 
by  the  hnhnlu.  '1  lie  Kni'.c  retired  to  K\oto,  where  they 
degenerated  into  leisured  courtiers,  living,  so  lar  a^ 
the  commonweal  v-as  concerned,  in  as  cloM-  retirement  a^ 
the  l.mperor. 

Fioni  the  thirteenth  < entury  until  the  restoration  ot 
iX'.S  the  Shogunaie  uas  the  Mile  administration  ol  the 
'•unary.  AS  the  Knnnihahu  had  originally  been,  it  was 
ctteii  the  object,  ot  civil  war,  and  a^  the  cli;;nit\  \\.i-- 
ne\'er  hereditary,  but  due  t»  the  noniinalion  oi  the 
i'.mpepir,  the  ii\,d  c'l.iimants  in\ariably  attempt"  d  to 
e;/'-  th'-  per- on  of  the  monarch,  and  even  on  o<  i  .1  I,.M 
to  -et  up  a  pretender  to  the  Miione.  l'ln>  arcoun;>  to 
,t  '.;reat  extent  toi  th'-  numlM-r-  of  depositions  ;iinl  .ibdi 
i.ition-  iegi-,ter«-d  in  th'-  b  t  ol  |-.mp«-ioi  -.  An  etleiti\i- 
inon.in  h  \\  a  ^  in  him-^-ll  ;i  d.in:;er  to  this  iinjnrmni  in 


EMPEROR   WORSHIP  31 

imperio,  and  the  Shoguns  took  very  good  care  that 
if  any  Kmperor  should  grow  to  maturity  it  should  cither 
he  as  an  effeminate  wastrel  or  in  the  safe  seclusion  of 
a  monastery. 

The  Tokugawa  Shogunate,  the  last  cycle  of  this 
extraordinary  delegation  of  authority,  lasted  from  the 
beginning  of  the  seventeenth  century  until  the  restoration 
of  Meiji  and  the  '  voluntary  '  retirement  of  Tokugawa 
Nobunaga,  whose  funeral  I  attended  in  January,  1914, 
at  Tokyo. 

The  condition  of  government  during  that  period  must 
be  shortly  described.  The  Shogun  held  his  court  at 
Yedo,  whilst  the  Kmperor  held  his  at  Kyoto.  The  feudal 
conditions,  established  under  Yoritomo,  had  been  com- 
pletely changed  by  the  Tokugawas.  Originally  the 
feudal  chiefs  had  been  big  landowners,  with  absolute 
power.  The  Tokugawas  had  succeeded,  by  means  which 
need  not  here  be  described,  in  concentrating  all  their 
power  in  the  hands  of  the  bakufii,  in  confiscating  much 
of  their  property  to  their  own  advantage  or  for  that  of 
their  pet  adherents,  and  in  converting  the  daimyo  from 
being  practically  independent  rulers  to  being  merely 
the  executive  officers  of  the  Shogunate.  Aggressive 
acquisition  was  as  much  a  characteristic  of  the  states- 
manship of  the  Tokugawas  as  it  was  of  the  Fujiwaras, 
or  as  it  was  of  the  Satsuma  or  Choshu  clans  tinder  the 
Kmperor  Mutsuhito.  The  voluntary  feudalism  of  Yori- 
tomo had  been  changed  into  a  compulsory  system,  so 
much  so  indeed  that  the  daimyo  had  to  live  in  Yedo, 
and  when  they  returned  to  their  fiefs  their  wives  and 
daughters  remained  behind  as  hostages  for  their  good 
behaviour.  A  similar  change  had  occurred  in  the 
relations  between  daimyo  and  samurai. 

The  two  conditions  illustrative  of  the  state  of  the 
country  were  the  imix)tence  of  the  sovereign  and  the 
absence  of  patriotism,  and  they  are  very  clearly  proved 
by  a  study  of  Japanese  history  from  1850  to  1889. 
These  years  are  generally  held  to  mark  the  change  from 
the  old  order  to  the  new.  but  it  would  -Ue  more  correct 


32  JAPAN    AT   TIIK   CROSS    ROADS 

to  say  that  they  wore  the  period  during  which  a  new 
order  was  grafted  on  to  the  old,  for  it  must  always 
be  borne  in  mind  that  though  feudalism  had  been 
abolished,  the  frudal  spirit,  the  growth  of  so  many 
centuries,  could  not  be  wholly  eradicated,  and  there  was 
no  Mich  intention  on  the  part  of  the  oligarchy  which 
succeeded  to  the  Shogunatc.  It  was  only  the  head  of 
the  system  to  whom  they  objected,  not  the  system. 

In  the  Tokugawa  age  there  were  three  authorities  in 
Japan  :  the  tic  /lire  Sovereign,  the  Emperor,  whose 
authority  was  nil  and  toward  whom  the  sentiment  was 
entirely  religious  ;  the  dc  facto  ruler,  the  Shogun, 
who.se  authority,  as  exercised  through  his  Council,  was 
real,  and  toward-,  whom  the  feeling  was  one  of  fear  ; 
the  third  was  the  daimyo,  who  was  the  immediate  over- 
lord of  samurai,  townspeople,  and  serfs,  and  towards 
whom  the  sentiment  was  one  of  complete  loyalty.  In 
fact,  the  ties  between  the  clansmen  and  their  lords  were 
far  stronger  than  those  of  consanguinity. 

When  the  power  of  the  Tokugawa  Shogunatc  was 
at  its  height  there  is  no  doubt  that  it  was  strong  enough 
to  ellectively  rule  the  country.  Vedo  was  the  fountain 
of  the  national  policy,  and  from  Yedo  were  apjx)intcd 
the  officials  tor  its  proper  application.  The  daimyo 
were  reduced  to  the  role  of  local  officials.  The  claim 
advanced  by  Tokugawa  Keiki  in  his  letter  of  resignation 
that  the  Shogun. tte  consulted  the  daimyo  is  unsubstan- 
tiated by  facts,  <  ertainly  as  regards  the  heyday  of 
Tokugawa  absolutism. 

'1  he  object  at  \vhi(  li  tin-  hahiiju  aimed  was,  in  short, 
an  undivided  control  o\cr  tin-  whole  nation,  inclusive 
of  the  Imperial  (Hurt  and  the  dainn'o.  The  (Kurt  ami 

the    Kll'.[C    Were    (-)Ued    by    the    (  onM.IIlt    presence    at    Kyoto 

ol  the  Shogun's  deputies  and  b\  the  (lose  proximity 
ot  the  mtli'.irv  for<  es  of  the  Shogunate  at  < 'saka.  The 
ddiin\'o  were  kept  in  hand  by  the  appointment  of  sub- 
•idi.iiv  oitiM.il->  from  Yedo  to  manage  then  .ttf.ui,  .  by 

their  ellfoll  e<l  ie  -lileIKe  .it  \e<lo,  uliefe  tliMI  \\l\es  aflll 
f.tlllllle,  Uele  held  .1.  hostages  ;  .Hid  l)\  I  he  extl.l 


EMl'KKOR    VVORSHir  33 

ordinarily    perfect    system    of    spies     (mctsukc'),    whereby 
their   every    movement,   if  not    their    every   thought,   was 
at   once    rej>orted   to   the   Shogun.      The    ideal  of  Toku- 
gawa  government   was  no  had  one.      It  was  to  maintain 
peace   and   order  throughout    the   land.      Their   methods 
were  simple  and  efficacious .     The  common   people  were 
encouraged    to    industry,    the    artisans    by    the    develop- 
ment   of    arts   and   crafts,    the    peasantry    by    agriculture 
and    horticulture.        The    feudal    aristocracy    were     en- 
couraged   towards    the   study   of   literature    and    military 
pursuits — literature    to    keep    them    out    of    harm's    way, 
military    pursuits    that    the    Shogunatc    army,    for    the 
greater  part  of  which  the  daimyo  were  feudally  respon- 
sible, should  always  be  prepared  for  service.     To  reduce 
the  risk  of  any  daimyo  securing  a  predominant  position 
by     wealth     various     means     were     adopted     to     force 
extravagant  expenditure  on  him.     The  military  retainers 
swallowed    a    good    portion    of    revenue,    and    in    addi- 
tion   the    daimyo   were    encouraged    to    ostentatious    ex- 
travagance at   their  yashiki   at    Yedo.       If   these   means 
wrere    insufficient    there    were    two    others    which    rarely 
failed.      The  S  ho  gun   would  invite  himself  to   dine  with 
the  plutocratic   daimyo,  who   to  do   honour  to  his  guest 
would   be   expected   to    ruin   himself.      A   quaint   legend 
relates    how    the    Shogun    did    this    with    the    Lord    of 
Shimadzu,   and   was   so  jealous  of   the   luxury   displayed 
that   he   ordered   the  latter  to    construct   the   triple  moat 
round    the    Chiyoda    Palace.      The    other    method    was 
to  obtain  an  appointment  for  the   daimyo  at  the  Kyoto 
Court,  when  the  presents  of  gratitude  which  the  Shogun 
and   his   subordinates  had  to    receive,    coupled   with   the 
presents    to    the    Emperor   and    Empress,    were    sure    to 
obtain    the    desired   end. 

Such  was  the  policy  of  the  Shogunate — at  its  zenith. 
From  the  beginning  of  the  nineteenth  century,  however, 
matters  had  not  been  maintained  on  their  old  footing. 
The  wonderful  system  of  espionage  developed  the  ten- 
dency of  all  such  systems.  It  was  so  taken  up  with 
recording  the  petty  affairs  of  the  population  that  it 


34  JAPAN    AT   THE   CROSS    ROADS 

missed  the  jv>pular  movements  and  the  genera!  trend  of 
thought.  The  unchallenged  sway  of  institutions  created 
decay  within  themselves.  The  stilling  of  criticism  cau-ed 
degeneracy  in  the  ruler-.  Discipline  became  lax.  The 
naybot'ti  system  became  supreme.  The  policy  of  seclu- 
sion was  modified,  and  under  foreign  pressure-  was 
abandoned.  No  longer  were  hostages  demanded  of 
the  dainiyo.  There  was  treason  in  the  Shogunate 
families  and  hierarchy.  The  younger  branches  were 
squabbling  as  to  the  succession.  The  karos  '  and  yorn'ti,3 
(originally  nominees,  of  the  bakufu,  became  adherents 
of  the  clans  to  winch  they  were  appoaited.  Many  of 
the  big  daitnvn,  whilst  not  renouncing  their  allegiance 
to  Vedo,  were  intriguing  together  and  with  the  Court. 
At  Kyoto  the  .-ituation  w.is  curious.  The  Emperor,  as 
ever,  under  the  Shogunate  was  a  nonentity.  The 
Throne,  the  symbol  oi  \\\<  religious  heredity,  was 
tolerated  by  Vedo  for  fear  that  its  suppression 
would  cause  jx>pular  tumult.  The  A'w.C''.  whose 
only  ration  d'i'lrc  was  the  care  of  and  attendance  on 
the  Imperial  pcr-on,  were  tired  of  inaction  but 
incapable  oi  action.  They  iiniied  to  philosophy,  and 
found  in  the  new  scholarship  a  remedy  for  their  own 
ill-*.  It  i-  a  trui-m  that  every  jx>htical  regime 
has  behind  it  a  philosophical  sy-tem.  Representative 
government  i  -  ba> -d  on  popular  freedom  :  republican- 
is  m  with"Ut  democracy  is  inconceivable  :  the  <li\  up- 
right oi  king-  \-  the  faith  o|  ab-olute  monarchy.  Since 
the  (lenroku  pt  riod  men  h.,:d  been  beginning  to  think. 
The  scholars  of  "\iiio  und  r  the  h<  ad  ship  of  a  T< >kugawa, 
Tok'i  I'.sa  \lit-uk'»ni,  \\e:e  th-  <  am-  s;  ri  a  -oners  of 
ni"<i<-:n  Japm.  The;r  indies  taught  them  that  only 
what  i  ba-ed  on  true  j)lnl<i  ophy  can  endure.  The 
Sliogi;na!e  \va-  a  sy-t'-m  '\'d.>d  to  meet  particular 
ioiidiM":i^  had  n->  philosophy.  'I  he  [.annular 

(  ondi?  ion  •  h     hid    :  u  i  n    i  ;:  ••<•    to     it     \\    r  ••    ;•(  me. 


KMI'KKOK    WORSHIP  35 

Every  political  revolution  i^  preceded  by  a  change 
in  tin-  current  of  national  thought.  The  Mho  philoso- 
phers led  that  change.  Half-way  along  their  path  they 
met  the  Kyoto  Ku^c,  who  wanted  to  be  restored  to 
power.  They  detected  the  Shogunate  as  much  as  the 
Shogimate  despised  them.  The  revival  of  learning  and 
the  renaissance  of  literature  took  on  the  guise  of  a 
political  ideal.  Then  the-  Shinto  priests  joined  in  with 
the  hope  of  a  revival  of  Shinto  and  their  predominance 
over  the  I>uddhi.-,ls.  When  the  dissentient  daimyo 
from  Satsuma  and  Choshti,  oxer  whom  the-  Shogun's 
jxnver  was  more  apparent  than  real,  joined  forces 
the  philosophical  idea  had  become  a  revolutionary 
movement. 

Just  at  the  same  time  America  opened  Japan  to  the 
world.  This  provided  the  necessary  concrete  case  for 
di.sa flection.  The  Shogun  had  been  quick  to  realize 
the  impotence  of  his  nudiaval  defences  against  modern 
arms,  and  was  desirous  of  making  terms  with  the 
foreigners.  The  daimyo,  especially  after  the  bombard- 
ment of  Kago.-hima,  recognised  their  weakness,  particularly 
against  foreigners  ;  but  the  Shogun  was  the  dog  they 
wanted  to  beat,  and  his  timidity  before  the  strangers 
was  an  excellent  stick.  The  malcontents  therefore  rallied 
to  the  cry  of  '  Down  with  ihe.  foreigners  !  '  and  their 
friend  the  Shogun,  and  adopted  as  their  policy  the 
restoration  of  the  administrative  power  to  the  Emperor. 
This  meant  for  them  the  transfer  of  the  Imperial  power 
to  their  hands,  for  the  Emperor  was  only  fifteen  and 
immature  alike  in  physique  and  mind.  The  foreign 
imasion  gave  them  their  opportunity.  The  Shogun  had 
compromised  with  the  foreigners.  They  must  rouse 
the  nation  against  the  foreigners,  not  because  they  ex- 
pected to  defeat  them,  but  because  the  Shogun  would 
either  be  forced  to  tight  the  foreigners,  in  which  case 
he  would  be  smashed,  or  he'  would  resign,  in  which 
case  the  Tokugawa  power  would  be.  ended.  In  either 
event  it  was  decided  to  seixe  the  Imperial  person  in 
order  to  cover  with  authority  any  violent  acts  they 


36  JAPAN    AT    THK    CROSS    ROADS 

might    perform,    ;uul    as   a    rallying"    cry    for    the   people, 
to    whom    they   intended   to   appeal. 

The  fiction  of  the  divine,  descent  of  the  Kmpcror 
was  revived,  and  the  reverence  due  to  a  deity  was  the 
welcome  of  the  monarch  wherever  and  whenever  he 
showed  himself.  That  the  fiction  was  not  universally 
received  i->  shown  by  a  conversation  recorded  between 
a  Shinto  priest  and  a  Buddhist,  whom  he  was  trying  to 
convert  to  the  new  order  of  things.  "  Ancestors." 
replied  the  Buddhist,  "  may  be  revered  for  their  human 
virtues,  but  certainly  not  for  th«-ir  alleged  god-like 
descent.  It  the  am  estors  were  not  human  probably 
they  were  birds  or  beasts,  but  certainly  they  were  not 
gods." 

To  the  literary  renaissance,  the  Shinto  revival,  and 
the  }>olitical  unrest  must  be  added  a  fourth  Jactor. 
which  helped  tin-  con-pirators.  The  Western  clans, 
e-pccially  Satsuma,  Choshu,  and  lli/en,  were  fighting 
races,  and  to  them  the  insular  policy  of  the  Shogunate 
was  distasteful.  There  \\as  a  strong  expansion  party 
ajnongst  them,  who  saw  a  future  in  expeditions  across  tin- 
seas.  Yoshida  Shoin,  who  was  executed  in  1^50.  for 
complicity  in  a  plot  again-t  the  lokugawa  rule,  uas 
one  of  the  leaders  ot  the  C 'lioshu  rjaii,  and  his  writing^ 
clcarK  prove  that  over  sixty  years  ago  the  leaders  o( 
the  militari-t  clans  \\eiv  planning  the  ultimate  annexa- 
tion of  Fonno-a.  tin-  Kuiiie>.  Kamchatka.  Korea.  Man 
(  huri.i,  and  a  portion  of  Siberia.  So  soon  after  the 
Restoration  as  I  ;~>7  >  a  Ministry  composed  of  Saigo, 
Soejuna,  ( ioto.  <  >kuma.  aii'i  <'ki  determined  on  a  \sar 
with  (.'hin.i.  It  \\a>  only  the  ti;ne!y  r'-turn  ot  luakura, 
Kl'io,  and  ( )kllbo  fioin  Kurope  that  prevented  its  or<  ur- 
rence,  a  retiogiv  --i>  >n  uhi<!i  <iro\c  Saigo  into  retir.n 
and  subsequent  rebellion.  lh<ie  i,  no  doubt  U'li.il- 
e\cr  th.it  tip-  elan  li-.idcr->,  Iroin  tin-  very  tnni-  of  tin  n 
i:  urj:a':o:i  of  tip-  goveininent,  v.e;.-  dele:mified  to  tollnu 
an  aggre  MVC  nnlr.ir;,  poii<\,  .ind  th--ii  adoption  of  tin, 
(our  e  w.i  ^  only  \><>  .t  p<  >n-  •<  1  t>\'  ill'-  tirgi-nt  rcj)rc>e:iia- 
tjonr>  ui  Iwakuia  and  Ito  that  Jaj>an  nuiit  lira  (oin- 


EMPEROR   WORSHIP  37 

pletely  recast  herself  before  she  could  be  in  any 
condition  to  wage  war  abroad.  Chauvinism  is  the 
birthright  of  the  lighting  tribes,  and  Satsuma  and  Choshu 
arc  no  exception  to  the  general  rule.  Aggression  abroad 
is  a  Japanese  jx>licy  dating  back  to  the  Middle  Ages  ; 
it  is  not  a  plant  of  tender  growth,  as  uninformed  London 
newspapers  would  often  have  us  believe. 

Tokugawa  Keiki  did  not  wait  for  the  Westerners  to 
force  his  hand  on  the  foreign  question,  but  resigned. 
It  has  been  a  moot  point  whether  this  course  was 
adopted  from  wisdom  or  timidity.  Until  the  family 
papers  of  the  Tokugawa  are  published  it  will  not  be 
definitely  known.  I  discussed  the  matter  on  various 
occasions  with  Japanese,  and  one  of  these,  a  Tokugawa 
man,  expressed  the  view  that  it  was  a  strategical  move 
on  the  part  of  the  ex-Shogun.  The  \Vestern  Lords 
were  demanding  a  restoration  to  the  Throne  of  the 
administration.  To  this  no  refusal  could  be  made,  for 
the  Emperor,  theoretically  at  least,  was  the  fount  of 
all  honour  and  office.  But  Keiki  in  surrendering  his 
office  did  not  want  to  see  the  Tokugawas  not  only  sup- 
planted by  the  Westerners  but  expelled  by  them  from 
the  council  of  the  nation.  By  a  graceful  retirement 
he  expected  to  keep  for  his  clan  a  fair  share  of  adminis- 
trative power  and  advisory  influence.  It  was  only  when 
he  saw  in  the  following  year  that  the  opposition  were 
intent  on  crushing  the  Tokugawas  out  of  existence  that 
lie  retired  from  Kyoto  and  took  up  arms  against  the  new 
regime. 

That  the  policy  of  the  Westerners  was  wrong  there 
can  be  now  no  doubt.  Their  anti-foreign  quasi  anti- 
Shogun  campaign  was  directly  responsible  for  the 
hideous  massacres  of  which  Europeans  were  so  often 
the  victims  in  ensuing  years,  and  which  brought 
humiliation  on  themselves  and  their  sovereign.  That 
they  reali/ed  their  stupidity  is  evidenced  by  their  volte- 
face  in  their  treatment  of  Enomoto  when  the  Civil  War 
was  ended. 

The    history    of     1867    and     1868    is    of    considerable 


38  JAPAN    AT   TIIK   CROSS    ROADS 

value,  as  showing  that  there  was  hut  little  genuineness 
in  the  claims  ot  the  Western  ddiinyo  that  they  were 
fighting  lor  the  Throne.  1  In  Restoration  and  the  Civil 
\\'ar  were  in  plain  lac;  a  light  oi  th  •  init*  against  the  in\. 
1'atiioti-m  and  loyalty  had  nothing  whatsoever  to  do  with 
it.1  The  re-toration  oi  the  administrative  power  to 
the  Throne  was  merely  a  piece  of  political  opportunism, 
necessitated  by  the  pet  uliar  strength  of  the  Shogunate, 
which  called  tor  a  far-reaching  battl'  -cry.  The  so- 
called  Restoration  did  not,  and  has  not,  restored  the 

1  "The  l\ikutu  \va->  .succeeded  l»y  .1  el. in  ^uver  ::::unt  "  d'.i;nn 
Shibn^aua1). 

"  Mikado  worship  was  r-taH>hrd  te.  in:  thcr  tlu-  pi'htic.d  ambitions  of 
the  cl.iii  chiefs  who,  v\vi  e  <1  •!•.  in  ed  !r'>:;i  I-\UA  i->e  of  authority  bv  the 
dr-pot:Mn  <!  t!ie  >' '";4'.i:  :.itr.  '1  ':•!-  \v.i^  t!:e  motive  .ictu.itmi^  the  Mi-iji 
^!.tlL-->uieii  -not  1<  iv.iitv  "  <C  >  iiiiil  S  ','iini.i  L 

"Ti.L-  I  !  in  i;  veri!::ie:it  diir'en-il  \ml  little  I'rmn  th.it  of  th<- 
S!i. imm.ite  "  'Count  Itai^.ikii. 

"The  Ti>ki:ij.i\v.iv  \veu •  exehaiiijed  l"i  S.ii^o,  Kid'V  ami  Oiaibc.  I; 
\v  !«•  '«:ilv  :i  c::.iii^e  i:i  li.iine  "  lli:'.ii. 

"  Mik.idi'  \v«>i -!:ip  lias  ci'iidiK'ed  t"  the  Ci.iiMiIid.iNun  ,  .f  tlie  l-linpne. 
l>:it  it  .^.ivr  ->:.i!>iii:v  \«  :!ie  form  "|  ^  <V(  i  inumi  ii-t\'etl  I'V  tiie  L!.HI  mi 
the  onin'.r  v  "  >  I  '  :ii::;;  . 

"A  cli.iii^e  ! :  •'  i;a  1(  >  .1!  p.iti  i  •;  1-111  t(  <  n.iM.  >;i.il  .  i  -  •  :i;t.il  i  Sir  I  i.i  i  v 
l':irk.-\  Di-p.i',  ht-s). 

"Tir  I.ip  i:;c-e  ^t-n'Mncn!  <  f  i'.t!n  i.-ctlitv  i>  ij;;i'f  :\\<  ><K  i  n.  uiei  <  Iv  .1 
iii.itt'T  "!  .1  L'eii'  i  Cii'  in"  il'inm:  It'ii. 

•  T!:i-  w.iy  i  f  lh<-  w;i:  t  j..|  .  i.t?.  -.  1 1 .  ,11  (  );  !r :,  Ti:;  r  .  l.;i!  >'i<-.!;i  ill. !  i\<  •! 
uic  .1!)  1'  A  e  i  -1  i  •  ':,:il  i  v.  /•':••/.'.  xv.i-  ;  >>-\  -  n  .1  .ti!  u'i;r,u  nt  !u  chu-f--.  i-vcn 
!-.  the  \>:>  . i ',.,i.:'  i  .f  :  •  •-.  .  I  r>  :I-.UI..MI  :::'  v  i  J  )«-:i::  .;  . 

1  In  t  !''•  --.i\  in1.  .1;  '  i  1 1  I:IL'.  -  '  !  ilii-  ''.'i  '. ;  i;>  n<  i  aliv  IN  •  i  vidriK'i:  ..jit»rat  • 
tli.it  I-  >•.  c  '  -f  ri  i! in' [  v  \v.i  •  .1  I '•!!:!: i.ni'  ie;it Mlii  ill. 

'  I  hi  :  i •  \\  .i  >  MI  i  c',  .(i'-in  i-  •  t  th.e  (  xi^tciK'i'  i.f  |  .1':  !•  ii-.ni  pi  i<  >•  t  •  tin- 
.il>'  .1:1:  in  of  l--,:i.,ih  Ml  in  t  f  M'i^i  f  I  .1  .11,1  i  •.  ivui/W.U  <  •!  I  ••M:iMi 


.I'MI-  I  i.i t  .i1    f.i:  .i>  p:  i.  t'i  .1!  <!i  -  pi  i\   i     i     iiv  •  i  urd   l.ipai1'-   '    !  -.C  :  :•  '  i   !:i  i 
.1    s«-:.tlillell'    -f     Mt1     i't'i    ('•".  ••!<  ipin.-n*.   .Hid     th.:f     I'.'.r     \v!;n    il.um     Mi\ 
i  X'  !  p: :  iii.ii   \V(  .ill  ii  <  t    !:•;•  ill    p  i!:  !<  >'  t    :n   1<  i    '  i  i    p1  •  •;  ie   !::•:   '  1  •'    >  I.i     '  d 
.1  -.  '  ". l '  •!:•   il  i !   p  if  ;      i:r    •   it   .(  I    !      1:1  ..          1  '<  I    aiiii.il:    ' 

"  A  ,     ir^.i;.;,  ,.,    t       l1.-       1  '•  •  I:..-    I-,;  ..::  i^  fit    wi!!i 

\  •  '  r :  • ;  e  n '  ( •    ;':.•!:     1 ;:.;.:!  i         1  •  •.  t ' '  •.     t   >    ! '.  <       I  !  ;  •  <  • :  •  :  '    ''.    tt  : '  h 

.;   !.     v-!.-  fa-  f.,          •  d     :  ,      i.    .   .:.  -.:.i'-    I    :••       .    :'-    '   •!-.  -.!•! 

i  :'.'•.<  i   Jh.m  L.  :.':dc:  •  f  '    I  iJuv.kli  \     Ht!>\<'i.i'.in    -. .  I    in. 


EMPEROR    WORSHIP  30 

Imperial  power.  As  regards  unifying  the  country,  the 
only  unification  of  which  the  opposition  seriously  thought 
was  unity  against  tin-  Shoguii.  Ii  was  only  when  the  clans 
had  succeeded  to  his  power  that  they  realized  that  a 
continuance  of  factions  would  inevitably  end  in  national 
disaster  and  that  a  sentiment  for  real  national  unity 
entered  their  heads.  The  remarkable  statement  of  Kido 
Tadayoshi,  who  was  the  brain  of  the  whole  Restoration 
movement,  is  sufficient  evidence  of  this.  Taken  all 
in  all,  the  Restoration  movement  was  as  shrewd  a 
piece  of  political  opportunism  as  the  world  has  ever 
seen. 

The  position  of  the  Emperor  was  but  little  improved 
by  the  change.  His  personality  was  nothing  to  his 
advisers.  His  office  was  everything.  It  has  been 
described  as  the  greatest  asset  of  the  Restoration. 
Japanese  history  shows  again  and  again  that  the  Throne 
was  "what  really  mattered  ;  whether  it  was  occupied  by 
a  major  or  a  minor,  a  widow,  a  congenital  idiot  or  a 
beldame,  made  no  difference  !  It  was  the  Throne  which 
secured  the  reverence  and  affection  of  the  people,  not 
the  sovereign.  This  is  easily  seen  by  the  lack  of 
surprise,  amounting  to  indifference,  when  monarchs  were 
retired  into  prison  or  a  Buddhist  monastery.  The 
removal  of  the  capital  from  Kyoto  to  Vedo,  then  re- 
named Tokyo,  was  another  instance  of  the  impotence 
of  the  Emperor.  Economic  and  strategic  reasons  were 
advanced  to  explain  the  transfer,  but  the  real  reason 
was  to  take  the  Emperor  away  from  the  influence  of 
the  Kugc<  who  had  supported  the  Restoration  move- 
ment in  the  hopes  of  securing  advancement  for  them- 
selves, a  step  which  did  not  appeal  to  the  dairnyo. 
In  the  same  way  in  784  the  capital  had  been  removed 
Irom  Nara  to  Kyoto  to  rid  the  Court  of  the  influence 
of  the  Buddhist  priests. 

That  the  Emperor  could  only  be  a  puppet  was  natural 
from  the  very  state  of  tilings.  Japan  throughout  the 
ages  has  been  a  despotism,  and  the  despots  were  law 
and  custom.  The  Imperial  movements  were  controlled 


40  JAPAN    AT   THK   CROSS    ROADS 

by  the  tyranny  of  custom.  The  Mikado  sat  on  the  throne 
immovably  for  so  many  hours  a  day.  Hi*-,  body  and 
dress  \vere  sacred.  Kven  the  scraps  of  food  lie  left 
uneaten,  the  dishes  on  \\hich  he  was  seived.  were  equally 
sacred,  anil  had  to  be  destroyed  imnu'diately  they  were 
removed  from  his  pr<M-nce.  His  hair  and  nails  were 
cut  whilst  he  was  asleep  or  feigned  sleep,  according 
to  the  ntiybocn  '  practices  so  prevalent  in  the  land. 
His  Court  consisted  of  the  useless  f\U'^i\  hi>  household 
only  of  women.  Hi:  wa>  allowed  twelve  lawful  wives 
and  a  j)ractically  unlimited  numl  er  of  concubines,  mostly 
drawn  from  the  families  ot  the  Ky<»to  nobles. 

Thc^e  practices  ha\  e  in  principle  remained  unchanged. 
The  Empress  is  since  iS,x<;  the  only  lawful  \\ite,-  but 
a  number  of  the  ladie^  of  the  palace  are  in  fact  con- 
cubines. 

liefore  iSoS  the  only  aets  of  the  Mikado  were  of  a 
religious  character,  tin-  deification  and  canon i/at ion  of 
the  great-  the  great  being-  the  nominees  of  the  Shogun. 

'  \ii\l><'(n:  a  trim  n-<  d  tu  rxpir--,  a  friijtird  i:_Mi"iaiKr  <  f  a  \v«-l! 
known  fa>  t.  !•'<>!  <  x.unplr,  win  i)  .1  hiijh  ottici.il  died  l!i"  la,  !  UM-.  and 
iv,  ^uppic^cd  fi'i  a  ti::ir  ;  n»w.id.iv-  in  oi-ii-r  to  allow  tlu-  Kinpri''i  l>> 
ccnil'ci  picol'it  honmiis  I'll  tliL-  ili-i  "i  .1-  i'd.  l''i;;;crl\  tu  .illi>\v  lu~-  'HII-- 
.111  i  pp<>r(u::i;v  •  f  <>l>t.u;r.nj/  .ipp<  'i;i:nn-iit  I"  Li  niiuc-.  In  i!;i-  ca^r  «i 
tin-  l:npi.-i  i.il  di'.ttli.  .innctinci-iiiriit  xv.i^  p"  ';  ;.i  '.  -n  .1-  ID  pmnit  tin- 
;ici;i-^ Men  of  thr  ii>-\t  IMU;  <TDI  bt-iiii.  I'M-  ''pj>.i-:ii  ;\  iud  IUIH-  to  :n.i!vO 
troijhlc.  ND  l-.iiip'-i' .1  di<-->.  llr  '  v.i:i!^!n-s  .1^  ln-iiitin;;  .1  M-IDI- 
diviiiitv.  At  tlic  drith  of  tin-  l.ttr  l-'.mpri":  M;it>itliit<).  cunt iiMon  ua> 
«..iiiM-d  .uiii'M^  t  tin-  i(iin::iDM  pi-i.p'.r  in  v.iii'His  |\n^  IIUHIL;  t»  thr 
.inn'  .iinci  incnt  in  (.'mut  l:ii:^u;i:;r  r  .it  lli^  Mt)r-!\  t  .id  '  \  .uu>!u-d.' 

'  Tin-   pM-  i  :it    l-.;u;  r:  1.1    i-   •  n!v  •  :    li.ilf-li'.Di.d.  ..  ,   in.pt'':rt    tn-m^  tin- 
I.adv   Van  I.M-A.H  .1.  \v:  n   \v.i     I::    t    !.i>'v  ii)-\\.iiti;  i;    t"   !!]•     laic    1   :  .;  :« 
I  1. 1 1  uk".      Si  in  i-    tin-    j'.i    MIII;    n|    t!.r    I  inp.-i  :.il    I  1-   :;    r   I    i\V  1:1    !»•),   I -a  If 
}•!•,   ^i!      air   lli.t    ICCOJ^.I/rd    111    ti   '      Ml'  •  i      •!•!!.   til..!ir!i     l!ic  All:,  !r       I     I'M- 
(   ',n> 'iluti-   :i  ili    ilin:'   \\lth   ihr  vnnr  lim-s   ix.t   jS',\ldr  !•  i    t'.r  r\  rtit  ;:a!il\- 
if    thr    I  a' h:t  i-   nl    tin-  di:  r>  t    in.iK     -iu  i  i  •    n  n.       ll   i>  i  ni\   i  •  :::  p  n  ,',:•.>  h 
ir,  rntiv   thai    ihr    ladlrv    i   t    lh<     p.ila.  r    ii.l'.r    [MVcl!   Up   i!   <     pl.u  li.  • 
i  i  r.  in;;  *l:r    fr  ,;  ntVi    ini:.i    !i  :    ,    a  p:  :\  •!      rr  \\  !:t>  !i    t  hi  \     •  •   :   '\  •  d 
a       ti.i  i!     p<  i   i'i< '!)    -i  .    v.  ".  i •  -    '  •!     t  J.r    i«  It     i'.u.d    U.i       1 1  •  •  I'lii/i  d          I'  \  •  n 
a!!-  I     t!:r  pro:::uh'  \.\  1     II    i   t     I  in      In:;  •  :  -a  I     I  !  •     :    i     I  ..<.  \t.    :  hi  \    .      :;!  1:1110 1    t,. 
r  '-i  I-IM-.  until    pi"!'     !,     ll"::i    '"inr     ,1    !''••    InMl-.'li     irpn     i  nta!  IVr  .  i      ti 
Vi  \  id    t  :.I '  nif\  !i    thr    I'.al    'il<    .  ,    N  tii: .   ,  .  ii  va    put    an    i  :i  d    !   .    Itir    >  11  .ti  iin  . 


EMPEROR   WORSHIP  41 

After  1868  the  public  functions  of  the  Mikado  con- 
tinued to  be  of  a  social  or  religious  character,  and  there 
is  but  little  evidence  that  he  was  a  real  force  in  affairs 
of  State.  As  Professor  I'ehara  says  :  "No  intelligent 
person  believes  that  all  the  affairs  of  State  are  fx-rson- 
ally  conducted  by  the  Sovereign.  .  .  .  There  is  not 
a  'single  instance  on  record  of  the  Emperor  Mutsuhito 
taking  any  State  matter  into  his  own  hands." 

On  the  other  hand,  there  is  no  doubt  that  the  late 
Kmperor  possessed  a  strong  [>ersonality,  and  after  1890 
exercised  a  considerable  influence  on  public  affairs, 
though  how  far  that  influence  went  must  always  remain 
a  matter  of  conjecture. 

There  lias  been  in  Japan  no  idea  of  respect  to  the 
Sovereign  as  Sovereign.  His  authority  lias  never  been 
temjxmd,  nor  has  there  ever  been  any  personal  feeling 
about  him.  He  has  been  merely  a  useful  nonentity, 
filling  the  Throne,  and  it  is  the  Throne  which  has  been 
the  subject  of  respect. 

In  Count  ( )kuma's  I'ifty  Years  of  Nc\\'  Japan  there 
are  many  statements  which  are  gro>sly  inconsistent  with 
the  truth.  There  is  no  statement  more  untrue  than  that 
there  never  has  been  a  revolution  or  attempt  at  assassi- 
nation of  the  monarch,  such  as  has  been  only  too  common 
in  other  countries.'  That  is  one  of  the  biggest  fictions 
ever  written  about  Japan,  and  Count  Okuma  as  an  active 
participant  in  the  events  of  1867  and  1868  must  know- 
that  it  is  not  true.  He  was  in  Kyoto  when  Choshu 
raided  fthe  city  and  tried  to  carry  off  the  Emperor. 
He  was  an  official  of  the  Government  at  the-  time  of 
the  counterplot  in  1871,  when  it  was  intended  to  raid 
Tokyo  and  carry  the  Emperor  back  to  Kyoto.  He 
was  in  the  Government  which  fought  the  Satsuma 
rebellion  of  Saigo.  There  is  no  nation  in  history  which 
has  shown  less  re.-pcct  for  its  monarch-,  and  in  the: 
history  of  no  other  nation  has  the  sovereign  been  so 
often  the  victim  of  murder,  deposition,  exile,  and  insult. 
For  sixty  years  the  country  was  the  prey  of  civiL  war 
between  ^Northern  and  Southern  Courts,  and  an  illegiti- 


42  JAPAN    AT   THK   CROSS    ROADS 

mate  usurper  won.  '1  hereafter  the  Shoguns  ruled  whilst 
infant  succeeded  intant  <m  the  throne,  each  as  soon  as 
he  reached  puberty  being  demised  and  shut  up  in  a 
mona-tery  or,  more  summarily,  a>sassinated.  Chamlx-r- 
lain  and  Murdoch  re,  all  how  one  exiled  Mikado 
e-.-aped  from  exile  hidden  under  a  load  of  dried  li>h, 
ulnNt  one  reigning  monarch  was  reduced  to  such 
peimry  that  he  gained  hi^  jx»eket -money  by  selling  hi^ 
autographs  ! 

So  much  for  the  myth--  and  legends  gratefully 
swallowed  by  the  British  public.  The  Jajxinese 
Imperial  Household  docs  not  deso-nd  in  an  unbroken 
line  from  ages  unknown.  Its  pedigree  is  broken  again 
and  again  by  the  oii'spiing  of  concubines  and  of  in- 
cestuous and  ndulterou-  connections.  The  Sovereign  in 
Japan  until  very  recent  year?  has  wielded  no  influence 
and  ha^  exerci-ed  no  au'hori'y  on  public  affair^,  but  rather 
from  age-,  eternal,  under  the  Fujiwara,  and  then  under 
successive  lines  of  Sh»gun-.  .aid,  since  the  Restoration, 
under  the  cian  o!i_\a;chv  ha>  been  a  figurehead,  intended 
merely  to  serve  as  a  cloak  for  the  actions  of  the 
oligan  hy .  There  :i«-ver  wa-,  until  after  the  Restora- 
tion, any  senv:  of  loyalty  to  the  Kmperor  or  to  the 
country.  At  "lie  Restoration  there-  never  was  any  inten- 
tion on  the  part  of  fh"  clans  to  create  such  sentiments. 
It  w.ts  onlv  ulii-M  tli--  cl.ins  reali/ed  the  force  of  foreign 
pre-.-ure  and  th'-  imp-  >  ^i.iili'y  of  im}*)-:;!.;  on  the  country 
another  ile-potism.  the  same  in  form  a>  that  of  the 
Sho"unati\  th.il  they  »-a\v  the  necessity  of  national  union 
by  the  erection  of  -ome  central  figure  to  which  the 
whole  nation  would  rally,  and  under  \vho--r  shadow  they 
«>uld  dire'  t  the  n.iti-.nd  for<  e>  in  th"  paths  whii  h  they 

tllelll    elv<  .-,      -ll'  ill!'  1     '   h<  >'  >SC. 

If  tin-  f'Hir  tend'  MCI-  -  leadin;;  t-i  the  Restoration  move- 
men'  are  -nid'-r  tood,  and  the  three  conditions  outlined 
ab«ive  [iropeil\  r- aii/ed,  it  i-  not  at  all  dilJK  ult  to 
undei  .(and  the  <  mrs"  ol  e\<-nt-i  in  Jaj>an  during,  the 
la  t  twenty  fiv«  \ cars . 


EMPKROR   WORSHIP  43 

PART   II 

The  supreme  work  of  the  Mciji  Kra  has  been  the  welding 
of  Japan  from  a  <  ongeiie  of  petty  feudalities  all  nominally 
o\vning  admini-ttative  allegiance  to  the  Shogun  and 
religious  allegiance  to  the  Mikado  into  a  closely  knit 
State,  where  the  interests  of  the  nation  have  been  sub- 
ordinated to  the  inter--.!-:  ol  a  governing  clique.  This 
has  been  no  mea'i  achievement,  and  its  execution  well 
within  the  allotted  -nan  of  a  man's  life  is  high  testimony 
to  the  efficiency  of  the  handful  of  statesmen  who  were 
responsible  for  it.  It  has  been  accomplished  by  the 
identification  of  the  Government  with  the  Throne,  and 
this  process  lias  been  so  successfully  carried  through  that 
there  lias  been  no  serious  opposition  to  the  system  estab- 
lished by  the  clan  oligarchy  in  1868  until  the  present 
time.1 

The  last  statement  will  probably  be  challenged,  on 
the  grounds  that  the  movements  led  by  Fukuzawa,  Itagaki, 
and  Okuma  for  popular  representation  were  protests 
again>t  the  bureaucratic  system.  Indeed  at  first  sight 
they  would  appear  to  be  so.  The  demand  for  popular 
rights  was,  however,  an  inevitable  result  of  the  abolition 
of  the  feudal  system,  and  had  no  connection  whatsoever 
with  a  movement  against  the  absolutism  of  the  monarchy. 
On  the  contrary,  simultaneously  with  the  ri^e  of  the 
'  popular  rights  agitation,'  went  a  counter  movement  for 
increasing  the  power  of  the  Throne,  and  with  the  result 
that  the  years  since  1889  have  seen  far  greater  poux-r 
developed  on  the  side  of  the  Throne  than  on  the  side 
of  the  people.  It  is  only  within  the  last  two  years  that 
Japanese  writers  and  thinkers  have  developed  their 
political  sense  to  the  point  that  a  government  should 
be  supported  by  a  majority  party  in  the  Diet.  Even 
yet  there  is  no  well -defined  expression  of  the  sentiment 

1  The  rebellion  c.f  S.it-uma  under  Sai^o  was  not  an  attack  on  the 
system,  for  \v:;'cii  Sai<M  him<elt  was  in  £\\;\{  p.irt  r-  -pop, -ible.  but  an 
attempt  to  subtract  the  Emperor  from  his  tutelage  at  Tokyo  to  place 
him  under  the  tutelage  of  Ka^oshima. 


44  JAPAN    AT    THK    CROSS    ROADS 

that  the  people  should  control  the  government.  As  will 
be  seen  later,  the  Diet  in  Japan  is  a  luxury.  It  has  no 
real  j>ower,  and  until  the  Constitution  is  radically  altered 
it  is  not  likely  to  attain  such  jx>wer. 

Political  movements  in  Jap. in  have  one  very  great 
distinction  from  similar  movements  in  Kn^land,  France, 
Russia,  or  America.  They  are  not  originated  by  or 
amongst  the  people.  A  political  party  does  not  consist 
of  a  number  of  men  all  imbued  \\ith  the  same  convictions, 
and  ideas  derived  from  study  and  thought.  The  political 
party  i>  a  chorus  to  its  leader.  How  long  a  leader  can 
rely  on  the  sup|x)rt  of  his  party  depends  almost  entirely 
on  the  depth  ot  his  pur^e  and  the  intensity  of  his  personal 
magnetism.  The  great  ambition  of  every  politician  in 
Japan  i->  to  attain  otti.  e  and  wealth.  There  have  only 
been  three  exceptions,  for  Fuku/aua  was  more  a  phil- 
osopher and  educationalist  than  a  politician.  Itagaki  and 
<  'kuina  were  de-erled  by  their  followers  when  their 
wanderings  in  th'-  jxjlitical  woods  forbade  any  hopes  of 
earthly  reuard,  so  long  a->  they  stuck  to  their  leaders. 
Inukai  now  leads  a  forlorn  hope,  since  half  of  hi-. 
adherents  fell  to  th"  late  Prince  Kaistra's  golden  promises 
in  i  <>  \  3. 

Almost  the  principal  <  hara«  t  -i  istic  o|  the  Japanese 
is  then-  ability  to  d<-<  eive  themselves.  It  has  been 
eupheinisti  ally  dcsciibed  as  th'1  la<il;ty  to  (omproinisc. 
It  is  really  th'1  art  ot  window-dressing,  \\luch  is  so 
pan, full-,  aj  parent  in  th'  ir  '  ommcri  lal  and  linaiicial 
institutions. 

"1  IK-  joliov.ers  of  the  populir  1  a<!ers,  after  a  short 
experieiK  "  of  the  hard-hip>  ol  oppo-i'ioli.  Were  perfe,  tly 
wsllin:;  to  a<  '  ept  tli'-  app.iM-ut  lor  ill'-  real,  and  thoM-  of 
lli'-  1-Miler^  \vlio  \\--n-  u:iu:i!i:r.;  to  a.;ree  were  im  on 
tni'-ntly  tlitoua  over.  Thu  -  i!  «  anie  aboi;;  that  a  (  on  - 
-titntion  wa  >  i'.ra'it'-l  U'lii  !i  1:1  no  wa\'  de,  rea^'-d  the 
au'Iioii!\  o!  tli'-  Ihroa--,  and,  e\i  «-p;  in  words,  i  om  eded 
i.orhin;'  to  tli--  popular  d'-;nand->  be-,  ond  th--  po\\er  <  <\ 
•  le.tit,;'  a!i  .1-  etnblv,  and  ill1'  M.dit  ot  the  a  '-nibl\  to 
in--'  t  and  talk  tor  o  m.inv  d.ivs  a  \ear  1  li-  Diet  i.-^ 


KMl'KROK    WORSHir  45 

the  most  imfx>tent  body  in  the  country,  if  not  in  the 
world.  It  can  control  neither  finances  nor  administra- 
tion nor  the  army  nor  the  navy.  The  Throne  i->  supreme, 
either  by  its  positive  or  negative  powers,  or  through 
the  Privy  Council. 

ri'he  various  jx>litical  compromises  of  recent  years  will 
be  dealt  with  in  another  chapter.  The  intention  here  is 
only  to  point  out  that  the  clamour  for  popular  representa- 
tion, which  was  a  feature  of  domestic  politics  from  1^79 
to  i«S<Ss,  in  no  way  resulted  in  changing  the  clan  scheme 
of  government,  but  rather  strengthened  the  same. 

The  question  will  be  asked,  how  was  it  possible  for 
the  clansmen  to  upset  the  Shogunatc  and  to  create  a 
form  of  government,  which  has  proved  in  fact  an  oli- 
garchic despotism,  under  the  guise  of  a  constitutional 
government.  I  use  the  description  '  oligarchic  despotism,' 
although  most  writers  employ  '  absolute  monarchy.'  The 
latter  implies  that  the  monarch  reigns  and  rules,  is  him- 
self the  active  legislator  and  administrator.  But,  as  I 
have  endeavoured  to  suggest,  in  Japan,  in  my  opinion, 
the  monarch  reigns  but  does  not  rule,  the  active  conduct 
of  affairs  having  at  the  Restoration  been  seized  by  the 
representatives  of  the  clans  (at  first  of  Satsuma,  C'hoshu, 
Hi/en,  and  Tosa,  later  of  only  Satsuma  and  Choshuj, 
who  have  ever  since  succeeded  in  holding  the  power. 

The  answer  is  by  obtaining  an  unlimited  power  of 
attorney  from  the  Throne.  It  stands  to  reason  that  if 
a  person  or  institution  possesses  the  virtue  of  infallibility, 
if  it  is  in  a  position,  through  real  or  alleged  divine 
favour,  never  to  do  anything  wrong,  the  best  method 
for  avoiding  opposition  to  a  proposed  course  of  action 
is  to  affix  the  infallible  one's  name  to  the  transaction. 
Of  course,  argued  to  its  logical  conclusion,  such  a  course 
can  only  lead  to  a  Cretan  fallacy  ;  but  people  in  Japan 
are  only  just  waking  up  to  the  existence  of  logic. 

The  clan  leaders  achieved  what  most  people  would 
describe  as  the  impossible.  In  the  middle  of  the  latter 
half  of  the  nineteenth  century  they  set  up  a  system  of 
government,  based  on  the  divine  right  of  monarchs, 


4^>      JAPAN  AT  THK  CROSS  ROADS 

and  not  only  gained  the  willing  support  of  thru  own 
countr\  men.  i)Ut  ol>t.ii:u'il  its  complete  acceptance  in 
Kurope  aii'l  Auu-rit  a.  Nothing  has  been  seen  like  it 
since  the  Popes  of  Koine  claimed  infaiiihi!ity  as  tin-  hens 
of  St.  Peter.  No  more  ma^nili-  ent  swindle  has  been 
perpetrated  on  th-  world  at  lar^e  since  the  days  ol 
Juil.'  a.  No  greater  te-timonv  to  th'-  gullibility  of  the 
\\hite  race-  could  he  re'juired  than  the  avidity  with  which 
they  have  swallowed  the  !M)!US  of  Mikadoisin.  The 
historical  tacts  with  which  the\  h.tve  been  regaled  are 
a^  Ljreat  humbug  as  Treit>chke's  pedi;.;ive  of  \\'illiam  11. 
Japanese  history  i>  more  modem  than  that  ot  any 
luiropean  country.  it-  anthenti  •  l)c;^inning  was  in 
A.I",  ^oo,  and  in  thi>,  a--  in  mo-t  other  events.  Japanese 
chronology  is  ind.-ed  out  of  date.  whiNt  the  sj)lendid 
>j:eei'hi.'s  a-ciit)"d  to  the  earl.'  Mikados  are  piracy  from 
the  (."liiiu-sc  ot  the  liio-t  blatant  description.  In  f.ui, 
in  dealing  \\i:h  tlie  early  record--  of  the  country,  it  is 
now  inip<>--Hbi'-  to  s-parate  the  native  Japaiu-se  from 
the  ('lune^r  md  l\or",i:i,  so  ido.-eiy  were  the  manners  of 
tho-e  two  countries  copied  in  l<-tter-,  science,  art,  social 
ru-.tom-',  admini-tration,  and  morality. 

It  i.  in-trti 'tive  to  comrur"  th'-  ris"  of  Mikadoi>m 
with  the  eoui's'-  of  eveiits  in  (/er:nanv.  \\  h  •;•(•  an  .ilmost 
parallel  d--\  e>  ipm«-:it  ha  been  a.  tempted,  thoiudi  uith 

(  oli-lder.lbl'.      l'-s:      SUi-e-s,    0\\1I1L'     to    the     pre-elU'C    of     oth-'l 

^overei^n    lieads    t!ian     the    Kin:;    ol     l'ru-->ia    within    the 
I'.mjMi'e.       Ill     'i:ibro!-:in   dyn.:   I;,    of   th  •   Mikado  ha>  been 
paralleled     b,      Tre:t-<dike'       l:.u:dnlent     de-cent     of     th«- 
i  lo!ie:;/o'l -in      fiom    ( "hat  leina",:  e.       'fir-    11:10:1    .  .1    Japan 
in     i  .- ')  •    pie,       ei    b.    i ;«, 'i    \rar     only    the    <  .{aohshin'-nt 
<1    the    (  lerman    iCmp'ie    m     i.  ~:.       Tiie    dni;iit\    "I    tii  • 
Mikado   u.i,   <  oj.;--  i    i,;.    \\'.il:inn    II.    1:1     I   •  ; -;.   af    \\'itt'n 
bei/, .       T!i"    ;a   .a!    manu:n;s-,ion    ,o-;--l    <  »1     1'nk;.  o    ir. 
it,    '  "pv     at     Miibn.         Jh"     laus     ,,i     '<><••  rn.!/<  -ti     are    a> 

•  cs  ei  e   in     i  a!    ci    a      i;.    »  iel'MiariV         1 ' ;   1    -  la .    '>s  . ;  h    I ;      ;  •  •   j"  'I 

•  •I     rm'i'.iM   m.     !-    'lr     Sit    lima   i 'hodiu    "1     'i'lniins.    and 
th'1   a;-,  P  --.ive   j'.i!:   i       nt    th"   f  iwairnusho  are   in   no   \\hit 
b- hind    t  ho  -••    ot     i  he    \Vd:,    ;IM  tia    •<-.        1'he    theories    of 


KMl'KROR    WORSHIP  47 

industrial  and  commercial  expansion  and  the  methods  of 
colonial  government  are  frankly  admitted  by  Japanese 
statesmen  to  be  copies  from  German  models. 

.Whether  the  founders  of  modern  Japan  anticipated 
the  success  which  has  attended  their  efforts  it  is  imjxjs- 
sible  to  say.  I  am  inclined  to  think  that  they  did  not  ; 
that  there  were  even  at  times  fears  of  failure,  which 
would  account  for  their  coquetting  with  the  theories  of 
popular  government.  Macaulay,  in  his  essay  on  The 
Church  of  Rome,  points  out  that  the  Roman  Catholic 
authorities  never  wasted  an  enthusiasm.  The  theories  of 
the  crank,  equally  with  the  doctrines  of  the  philosopher, 
were  turned  to  the  best  account,  the  good  of  the  Church. 
The  same  may  be  said  of  the  Japanese  Government. 
Like  the  Roman  Church,  it  started  with  a  great  asset, 
the  representation  of  the  Divinity  on  earth.  The  Mikado 
was  used  to  rally  the  nation  against  the  Shogun.  The 
success  immediately  attained  exceeded  the  highest  expec- 
tations, though  in  fact  it  was  due  to  the  apathy  engendered 
by  the  feudal  system.  Once  in  possession  of  the  reins  of 
government,  the  Restoration  leaders  resolved  to  utili/e 
the  same  magnet  to  ensure  popular  support  of  their 
own  undertakings.  The  Mikado  was  brought  out  from 
his  seclusion.  On  his  prestige  as  Divine  head  of  the 
nation  was  grafted  supreme  authority  as  secular  head. 
The  country  was  told  :-- 

The  Mikado  is  the-  head  of  the  country,  in  religion 
and  in  administration,  because  he  is  the  descendant  of 
Jimmu  Tenno,  who  was  the  grandson  of  the  Sun-Goddess. 
He  can  do  no  wrong.  Hear  him  and  obey,  otherwise- 
be  guilty  of  sacrilege,  blasphemy,  and  high  treason." 
By  what  methods  were  the  people  persuaded  to  accept 
this  doctrine?  By  every  method.  School  teachers,  uni- 
versity protessors,  temple  priest.-,  officials  oi  /\e;i  and  Fu 
all  became  ardent  propagandists.  Belief  in  the  Imperial 
divinity  and  infallibility  was  the  only  road,  not  merely 
to  success  but  to  existence.  The  a.-tuie  state-men  who 
engineered  the  whole  scheme,  Okubo.  Iwakura,  and 
Kido,  realized  that  the  only  danger  they  had  to  fear  was 


4$  JAPAN    AT    THK    CROSS    ROADS 

that  of  which  the  Tokugawas  were  always  afraid,  the 
rise  of  some  feudatory  to  a  predominant  or  at  all  events 
independent  position.  This,  then,  was  early  placed  out 
of  the  range  of  possibilities  by  a  working  agreement 
between  the  four  clans  to  surrender  their  fiefs  in  exchange 
for  money  and  jxjwer,  and  then  to  insist  on  the  other 
dtiiniyo  surrendering  their  fiefs  in  exchange  for  money 
only.  The  four  western  lords  wrote  their  surrender  of 
their  fiefs,  hastened  to  Tokyo,  advised  the  Fmperor  to 
at  cept  the  same,  and  to  issue  a  rescript  ordering  the  other 
datrnyo  to  follow  suit.  The  western  army  was  held  in 
readiness,  and  would  soon  have  settled  any  reluctance, 
but.  as  it  turned  out,  all  the  daimyo  preferred  wealth  to 
lands.  The  next  step  uas  to  disband  the  samurai,  which 
was  done  by  transferring  a  number  of  the  Imperial  army 
and  pensioning  off  the  rest  on  the  country.  The  /fans 
(the  (Juimyo's  administrative  fiefs)  were  changed  into 
Ken,  and  the  whole  government  was  centrali/ed  at  Tokyo. 
This  was  tin-  second  great  step.  By  the  mere  u-e  of  the 
Imperial  signature  (the  Mikado  was  a  youth  of  eighteen 
at  the  time),  the  feudal  system  had  been  abolished,  and 
not  only  the  administrative,  but  the  military  power  had 
beeome  the  monopoly  of  the  Sat -cho-hi -to  '  coalition. 
It  was  not  long,  however,  before  the  country  found  that 
Mikadoism  \\as  an  evp'-iisive  luxury.  Finance  has  always 
been  the  w-ak  f*>i:!t  of  Japanese  statesmen,  and  the 
purchase  and  pension  schemes  of  1X71  produced  very 
-erious  discontent,  which  finally  culminated  in  the  Civil 
\Var  of  \  -',';  ~] .  People  \\ere  beginning  to  n -ali/e  that 
c  l.iiiM  in  \\  a  s  only  a  ur\i\al  of  th<-  oM  rt^:mt'.  A-  ;he 
(  h;li'--e  p;ii'.e:t>  sa\  -  :  '1  he  go .  eminent  -  o|  1 .00 
\V.  i  an-  b  i  ol  he  is."  T!ie  Sa'  -•  ho  slate  men  'the  Sat 
III  Io  io. ill. loll  broke  u;i  Pi  |  X  ~  ,i  lecogni.'-'d  I  ha'. 

ait  ion  i    had    bet  n    too    visible,    and    it    was    ne<  e  .  -.uy    still 

further      to      .le\e!o[i      t!l          Illlpellal      tll'ory      to      cloak      them 

In  tier.      Sar.'.o',  manifesto,   uh'-n   he  Ic-gaii   hi-  revolution, 

li.id     bf'-n     a     i  omp'a;r;t     that     the     go\  eminent  a:      lok\o 

u.i     not    that    of    til--    i',ni|"-ror,    but    that    <>f    an  ol^g.in  by, 

'    'sat-uni.i ,  Lln'sliu.  i  ii/cn,  'Jc-a. 


EMPEROR    WORSHIP  49 

and  this  had  brought  him  great  popular  support.  When 
the  rebellion  had  been  crushed,  at  great  cost  of  life 
and  money,  the  theory  of  divine  descent  was  the  subject 
of  a  wide  campaign  of  exposition  and  advertisement. 
The  germs  of  jxjpular  representation  were  discounted 
by  a  sharp  advancement  in  the  theory  of  absolute 
monarchy.  Tin-  Kmpcror  was  brought  forward  into  the 
public  eye.  He  appeared  at  many  public  functions. 
He  became  the  visible  as  well  as  the  nominal  head  of 
the  army  and  the  navy.  Imperial  Rescripts  grew  more 
frequent,  but  more  ambiguous  and  formal.  Foreign 
aggression,  always  the  secret  aim  of  the  Sat-cho  clans, 
became  a  national  policy  under  the  dress  of  '  expansion 
of  prestige.'  The  presentation  of  a  Constitution  became 
the  opixjrtunity  for  a  clear  definition,  without  veil  or 
apology,  that  the  Kmperor  not  only  was  the  head  of 
the  country,  but  was  the  sole  fountain  of  legislation  and 
administration. 

Such  in  brief  is  the  history  of  the  rise  of  Mikadoism 
from  an  abstract  theory  to  the  driving  force  of  the 
State.  Its  growth  may  be  traced  in  the  language  of 
the  Imperial  Rescripts.  Its  daily  evidence  may  be  seen 
in  the  schools  in  Japan,  where  on  set  occasions  scholars 
and  teachers  perform  genuflectory  exercises  before  the 
Imperial  portrait.  Its  influence  may  be  seen  in  '  Who's 
Who  in  Japan,'  where  Admiral  Togo  and  other  victors 
in  Japan's  wars  ascribe  their  successes  to  the  virtues 
ot  the  Imperial  Ancestors,  or  in  the  grounds  of  the 
War  Office  and  Stall"  College  at  Tokyo,  and  in  the 
public  squares,  where  cannon  taken  from  China  and 
Russia  are  placarded  as  captured  by  the  Imperial 
virtues. 

That  Mikailoism  could  be  a  real  religion  in  Japan 
was  pro\(M  at  ;'ne  death  oi  the  hit'1  Kinperor.  Nobody 
who  witnessed  the  thousands  and  tens  of  thousands 
gathcre^  on  tlv  Nijuba-hi  night  and  day,  in  pouring  rain 
or  broiling  sun,  could  deny  for  a  moment  the  immense 
hold  which  it  has  on  the  people.  That  the  official  in- 
tention was  to  exalt  it  to  a  religion  cannot  be  doubted. 

4 


50  JAPAN    A'l    'I  I  IK    CROSS    ROADS 

The  declaration  of  Baron  Oura,  Minister  of  Home  AtTairs, 
in  February,  1911,  is  evidence-  enough  on  the  point. 
He  said  :- 

'That  the  majesty  of  Our  Imj>erial  House  towers 
hi«jh  above  everything"  to  be  found  in  the  world,  and 
that  it  i-  as  durable  as  hea\en  and  rarth.  is  too  well 
known  to  need  dwelling  on  here.  If  it  is  considered 
that  our  country  needs  a  religious  faith,  then,  I  say. 
let  it  be  converted  to  a  belief  in  the  religion  of  patriotism 
and  loyalty,  the  religion  of  Ini]>crialisni — in  other  words 
to  Kmperor  worship." 

The  famous  three  religion  conference  in  I »)  I  2  of  repre- 
sentatives of  Shinto,  Buddhism,  and  (,'hristiaJiity  had 
for  its  object  the  evolution  of  a  new  religion,  a  combina- 
tion of  the  three,  but  a  sine  </ita  non  of  which  should  l)e 
the  exaltation  of  the  Imperial  House.  Though  the  official 
annouru  cinent  was  that  the  conference  was  highly  satis- 
fa<  tory,  it  was  on  this  point  at  least  a  dead  failure,  for 
the  representatives  of  SOUK-  of  the  Buddhist  sects,  and 
notably  of  the  Tenrikyo.  were  unwilling  to  come  to  an 
agreement  with  the  others. 

Buddhism  has  always  been  an  obstacle  in  the  way  of 
Mikadoi-m.  In  an<  imt  history  Buddhism  ua>  supported 
by  the  first  Sho^uns,  and  it  was  to  reduce  Buddhist 
inthieni  e  that  the  Shinto  prie.sts,  with  their  belief  in 
ancestral  worship,  were  fa\ourvl  at  tin-  Restoration. 

'I  hi-  present  stat,-  of  ('hristianity  in  Japan  is  eloquent 
proof  of  the  inlliience  of  Mikadoi-m,  a;al  it  will  be  a 
re\e]ation  t"  .\\<--t<rn  countries  to  It  ,trn  that  Japanese 
(  liii-tia!is  i  an  ae''i-pt  Avithoiit  a[><»!o.;v  or  hesitation  the 

tenet-  of   the   Il-'W  rell.'loli.       '1  lie    Re\  .    I  >r.    1'Jiilia.    proliably 

•he  inn-'.  ]»ro:jii!i'-nt  I'lote-tant  in  th ••  country,  and  a  man 
who  m  other  re-pe<  t-.  ha-  not  ^lio\'.n  him  --ll  unmindtul 
of  the  fault-  of  his  i  ountrymen.  urote  : 

"  Thou  -li   tlr-  '•!!•  oura;  eineni   of  ancestor  uor-liip  can 
[.<  t     In-     re/arded     a-     part     of     th--    e-s.-ntial     tea>  Inn:;     ol 
1    ',i:  istianit  y.    it    i^    not    opjio  >-d    to    the    noiMn    ih.it,    \\hen 
the    Japan*-  e    I'.rnpiie   \vas   founded,    it-   earl*    ruler,    \v«-re 
in    communication    with    the    (,n.i'    Spirit    that    iule>    the 


EMPEROR   WORSHIP  5' 

universe.  Christians,  according  to  this  theory,  without 
doing  violence  to  their  creed,  may  acknowledge  that  the 
Japanese  nation  has  a  divine  origin.  It  is  only  when 
we  realize  that  the  Inrjx^rial  Ancestors  were  in  close 
communion  with  God  (or  the  gods)  that  we  understand 
how  sacred  is  the  country  in  which  we  live."  Dr.  Ebina 
ends  by  recommending  the  Imperial  Rescripts  on  Edu- 
cation as  a  text  for  Christian  sermons.1 

That  amazing  utterance  alone  is  superlative  evidence 
of  the  omnipotence  of  the  ideas  of  Mikadoism  among 
the  serious  thinkers  of  the  country.  From  cradle  to  coffin 
Japan  is  saturated  \vith  this  extraordinary  doctrine  of  a 
God -descended  monarch  and  a  God-favoured  land. 

Christianity  has  never  received  the  '  glad  eye  '  of 
Japanese  statesmen.  The  theory  of  a  Divine  Power, 
greater  by  far  than  the  Godhead  of  the  Mikado,  is 
something  inconsistent  with  the  obscurantist  views  of  the 
Tokyo  officials.  In  Japan  Christianity  under  the  treaties 
must  exist.  It  is  tolerated,  but  not  encouraged,  but  it 
is  not  discouraged  because  of  the  considerable  educa- 
tional work  it  does  for  the  country.  In  Korea  and 
Formosa  it  is  actively  discouraged,  as  the  teachings  of 
the  missionaries  arc  calculated  to  hinder  the  propaganda 
of  Mikadoism  amongst  the  natives. 

Mikadoism  is  the  dominating  force  of  modern  Japan. 
It  was  a  superb  mendacity,  or,  as  Chamberlain  describes 
it,  "  A  pious  fraud,  maintained  as  a  political  device  to 
control  the  unenlightened."  It  was  an  engine  of 
despotism,  to  enable  a  particularly  clever  clique  to  arro- 
gate to  themselves  the  direction  of  national  affairs.  As 
an  exposure  of  the  truth  would  have  been  calculated  to 
end  their  plans,  the  despotism  was  particularly  directed 
to  the  suppression  of  reason.  In  practice  Mikadoism 
was  as  effective  as  Tammany,  and  as  unscrupulous.  Its 
omnipotence  has  resulted  in  as  complete  a  tyranny  as 
history  knows.  That  due  respect  should  be  paid  to  a 
Sovereign  on  his  passage  through  the  streets  is  right 
and  proper.  That  ladies  should  be  made  to  descend 
1  'japan  Mail,  Yokohama. 


52  JAPAN    AT   TIIK   CROSS    ROADS 

from  their  carriages,  if  held  up  in  a  side-street  oil  the 
route  of  the  procession  is  perhaps,  an  exaggeration,  but 
that  your  dog  should  be  made  to  get  into  the  carriage  is 
absurd. 

That  schoolmasters  should  endanger  their  live-,  to  save 
the  Imperial  {>ortrait  in  a  conflagration  is  pathetic,  but 
that  a  station-master  should  commit  hari-kiri  because  the 
Im|K'rial  .saloon  was  derailed  in  his  shunting  yard  is 
bathetic. 

That  the  Imperial  person  should  be  sacred  and  divine 
i-,  an  excellent  idea,  but  it  is  a  poor  excuse  for  letting 
a  man  die  for  lack  of  a  thermometer  and  a  poultice. 
Vet  this  was  the  case  with  the  late  Krnperor.  The-  squad 
of  Court  physicians  pre-cri;>cd  '  from  afar,'  for  it  was 
forbidden  to  take  his  pul-e  except  through  a  silk  cover- 
ing, or  to  touch  his  body  \sith  thermometer  or  stethoscope. 
When  the  late  Hmpp-ss  in-i-ted  on  -.ailing  in  out-ide 
upinion.  and  gave  the  specialists  Mima  and  Ao\aina 
a  free  hand  in  their  treatment  of  the  patient,  it  was  too 
late.  It  is  well  to  note  that  even  the---  events  caused  a 
shudder  amongst  the  older  clan-men.  Marquis  Saionji. 
the  then  Premier,  ha-  always  been  noted  lor  his  inde- 
pendent spirit  and  revolutionary  ideas,  and.  though  he  is 
blood  brother  to  Prince  Toku-lai;i.  the  Lord  Chamber- 
Iain,  a  man  bred  in  the  a;mo-phere  ot  the  Kyoto  Court, 
he  has  seldom  di-p!a\ed  much  sympathy  with  Mikadoimi. 
Hi-  a'tion  in  breaking  through  ancient  customs  earned 
him  the  In-arty  curses  ot  th"  (lenro,  and  in  e-p^  i.il  of 
Princ"  Varnagata.  I"  tre.it  th  Lnijvior  a-  an  ordinary 
pain  lit,  to  administer  <i_.  -t.-i  ,  to  p.i<  k  him  in  ice,  to 

ls-ue        bull-  till.        and        advertj-"        lil          t'-mpMataie 

ineasiin  -    beyond    >,••!;.  t.    .i::d,    in    th-    i-\«--,    o|    ;h 

•  ••<!    to    -  real  •    a    d:  .belief    i:i    In  -    •    m-  nty 
It   th"   Kmp"ior  'o'lld   rece;\e  -ubi  utaneous 
I    b'-at    a    j-iil   e    hk"    th"    <  <  imm<  >n    h"id.    \\  hat 
dillereiitiate    him    horn    the    ordm.n\     man'.' 

i  h'    -e    V.ef"    the    \-|e\',  -    tl'"!y    ln;i?teled    and     Uttered     behind 

the  'Jioji  of  th"  waiting-room-  in  the  <  hi\o'!a  P.il.ue. 
Lu'i  the  mutt<-rin:r.  v,<i"  ul  no  avail  before  the  deter- 


KMPKROR    WORSHIP  53 

mination    of    the    Kmprcss    to    do    everything    which    was 
humanly    jx)ssiblc    to    save    her    husband's    life. 

That  in  the  past  Mikadoism  has  been  of  benefit  to 
the  country  is  undeniable.  Under  its  a'^is  Japan  has 
developed  from  an  almost  unknown  island  to  one  of 
the  important  State-,  of  the  world.  A  collection  of  feudal 
fiefs  has  been  changed  into  a  closely  knit  Kmpire.  An 
island  sternly  barred  against  intervention  from  without, 
and  expansion  abroad  has  become  one  of  the  continental 
Powers  of  Asia,  maintaining  the  closest  intimacy  with 
all  quarters  of  the  globe.  Undoubtedly  it  owes  much 
of  its  success  to  its  diplomatic  and  military  trumphs. 

The-  advantages  obtained  in  th  •  diplomatic  negotiations 
of  1882  and  1885  were  the  forerunners  of  the  wars  of 
1894  and  1904.  It  ha>  been  one  of  the  assets  of  Mikado- 
ism,  as  it  is  the  asset  of  all  oligarchies  that  it  has  enabled 
a  continuous  policy  abroad.  That  policy  was  laid  down 
by  Voshida  Shoin,  was  accepted  by  his  successors,  con- 
firmed in  the  Imperial  Rescript  of  i  S6,"\  and  in  the  Acces- 
sion Oath,  and  iias  been  carried  out  in  the  years  that  have 
since  elapsed. 

In  numerous  ways,  other  than  in  expansion  abroad, 
there  is  much  on  the  credit  side  of  the  ledger.  In 
internal  administration,  in  financial  reforms,  in  industrial 
development,  in  education,  in  law  and  order,  in  the 
thousand -and-one  paths  which  make  up  national  life 
the  despotism  of  the  oligarchy  has  proved  most  bene- 
ficial to  the  country. 

So  long  as  the  aims  of  the  clans  were  identified  with 
the  progress  of  the  nation  no  great  objection  could  be 
entertained  to  the  methods  adopted  by  the  oligarchy,  the 
more  so  as  for  many  years  after  the  Restoration  the  vast 
majority  of  the  nation,  born  and  bred  in  the  passivity 
of  feudalism  were  lacking,  not  only  in  political  sense, 
but  even  in  the  desire  for  enlightenment.  But  as  a 
political  movement  arose  under  the  influence  of  Okuma, 
Fuku/awa,  Nakae,  Itagaki  and  others,  the  people  began 
to  demand  a  share  in  the  government.  For  many  years, 
until  in  fact  the  death  of  the  late  Emperor,  that  demand 


54  JAPAN    AT   THE   CROSS    ROADS 

was  staved  oil  partly  by  the  fulsome  eulogy  of  Japanese 
successes  abroad  and  of  their  authors,  and  partly  by  an 
absolutely  unscrupulous  despotism,  achieved  by  the  mi>- 
use  of  the  Imperial  name.  Oscar  NVilde  said.  '  Nothing 
succeeds  like  excess.'  The  Elder  Statesmen  of  Japan 
have  proved  the  truth  of  his  words  attain  and  a^ain. 
Having  elevated  themselves  through  the  Sovereign  to 
a  state  of  omnipotence  in  the  Empire,  any  attempt  to 
oppose  the  development  of  their  plans  was  ruthlessly 
crushed  by  the  invocation  of  the  national  Deity.  Laws 
objectionable  to  the  Diet  have  been  issued  as  Imperial 
Ordinances  ;  laws  parsed  by  the  Diet  and  objectionable 
to  the  powers  that  be  have  been,  vetix-d  or  refused  pro- 
mulgation. Popular  movements  and  political  ideals  have 
been  nipped  in  the  bud  by  Imperial  Rescripts.  So  far 
has  the  process  been  carried  that  Imperial  Rescripts 
have  been  elevated  to  a  |>osition  above  the  law.  Dr. 
L'esuk'i.  <i  noted  bureaucrat,  discussing  the  Imperial  Re- 
script on  Education  'iSno),  claimed  that  Imperial  pro- 
nouncements, by  mere  authority,  independent  of  their 
contents,  should  rank  above  the  laws  of  the  country. 
During  the  past  two  year--  the  internal  [>olitiral  simple 
in  Japan  has  boiled  it>e!f  down  to  the  Dimple  problem 
of  whether  an  Imperial  Rescript  can  override  the  (<>n- 
^titution.  The  frequent  abu-v-  of  the  Imperial  dignity 
and  authority  by  the  EMer  Statesman  and  1'rinre  KatMira 
has  started  an  inquiry  into  the  legality  of  Mikado  worship, 
and  even  a  demand  for  radical  reform-;  of  the  \\hole 
<  'onstitution  a^  affect  im.r  the  powers  of  the  Soveivu-ji. 
The  reformer-,  have  no  alternative  init  to  attack  ih"  -tain 
of  th"  Tnor.an  h,  be*  ail-e  the  clan  1  .rle1^  hold  DO  ott'n  •• 
under  the  <  'oii-titution,  and  <  loak  all  their  ill'  i-ali'ie-  u"< 
Imperial  Rf-,i  ript -..  To  Mich  an  extent  ha>  tin-  pn><  e- 

been      deV'lopi-d,      tll.lt      lit       lol    ^      I'lince      Kat-MIM     (M!. tilled 

an   Imperial   Re-   npf,  orderin/,    ^I.irq;n-  Saionji,  a  - 
of     the    Sej-.  tik\v.ii.     to    ii!,:!.'-    hi      pa M y    d--   i-t     h'otn 
oj.j»o   ition    to    the     I'iKM'          \\"hen    the    Marqui-    fa' 
i  any  out   : h--  t'-i ;n  -  ot    the  '"hit   he  -.\ a     inijtea'  \«-< 
I  »i«  !  on  <  har/c ,  oi  ;'i'o-  -  di  ri-siK-ri   to  the  I  in; "  1 1  il  1  lou 


KMTKKOR    WORSHIP  55 

In  I.S9-S  Mr.  O/aki,  a  meml>er  of  the  Progressive 
I'arty,  was  Minister  of  Education.  He  is  one  of  tin- 
loading  younger  |x>liticians,  and  is  blessed  (or  cursed) 
uith  a  strong  imagination,  a  flood  of  oratory,  and  a  con- 
spicuous lark  of  tart.  He  has  been  called  the  Lloyd 
George  of  Japan,  and  not  altogether  incorrectly.  In 
addressing  the  Imperial  Educational  Association,  he  was 
broad-minded  but  unwise  enough  to  say  :  "  Suppose 
that  you  dreamed  that  Japan  adopted  a  republican  system 
of  government,  a  Mitsui  or  Mitsubishi  would  immediately 
become  the  Presidential  candidate."  The  mere  idea  of 
an  Imperial  Minister  mentioning  a  Republic  in  connec- 
tion with  the  land  of  the  gods  was  an  outrage  on 
Mikadoism.  A  scream  of  indignation,  carefully  fanned 
by  the  bureaucrats,  went  up,  and  O/aki  resigned,  to  be 
followed  a  week  later  by  the  Ministry  of  which  he  had 
been  a  member. 

In  1912  Mr.  T.  Yamamoto,  Minister  of  Finance,  owing 
to  the  bankrupt  state  of  the  country,  refused  to  subsidi/c 
the  Meiji  Kxhibition,  to  be  held  to  celebrate  the  fiftieth 
year  of  the  reign  of  the  Emperor  Mutsuhito.  He  was 
charged  with  disloyalty  and  insulting  the  Imperial  House, 
because  he  said  :  "  I  am  sorry  that  for  lack  of  funds  I 
am  unable  to  allot  any  subsidy  to  the;  Kxhibition  proposed 
to  celebrate  the  jubilee  of  the  restoration  of  the  Imperial 
House."  lie1  had  to  solemnly  apologi/e  to  the  House 
and  request  that  his  remarks  be  expunged  from  the  records 
of  the  proceedings. 

In  November,  i  01  i,  whilst  the  Emperor  was  in  .Western 
Japan,  his  saloon,  in  coming  from  the  shunting  yard  at 
Moji  to  the  station,  fouled  the  points  ami  was  delayed 
for  twenty  minutes.  The  station-master  committed  suicide 
as  an  acknowledgment  that  the  fault  was  his.  Dr. 
Yamakawa,  the  President  of  the  Kyushu  L'nivcrsity,  wrote 
a  newspaper  article  arguing  that  the  station -master,  in 
committing  suicide,  had  shown  a  mistaken  sense  of  his 
responsibility.  The  outcry  against  the  author  of  this 
piece  of  common  sense  was  the  main  topic  for  many 
weeks,  and  Dr.  Yamakawa  was  forced  to  tender  his 


56  JAPAN    AT    TIIK    CROSS    ROADS 

resignation  to  silence  his  critics.      Fortunately  for  Japan 
the    Marquis    Saionji    refused    to    accept    it. 

In  I  oo  i  Professor  Kurno  was  dismissed  from  other 
for  critici/in^  the  early  Mikados,  whilst  Professor  Ha:; a 
lo-t  his  lectureship  for  saying  that  the  ode-  in  the 
Nihongin  and  the  Ko;iki  were  comjtosed  by  the  ^ods, 
Jimmu  Teiino,  some  Kmperors  and  monkeys.  As  a  matter 
of  fact  they  were  all  stolen  from  the  Chinese  classics. 

In  i<;J2  the  Memoirs  oj  a  C^ourt  lady,  written  by  a 
former  lady-in-wailing  to  the  Kmpress,  was  suppressed, 
as  ^ivin^;  the  public  t<x>  much  familiarity  with  tin-  customs 
of  the  Palace.'  In  the  following  year  a  volume  called 
The  /\ot\  l'u;nt'(ints  of  Kyo'.o  wa-  sei/ed  by  the  police, 
as  lacking  in  respect  to  the  memory  of  former  Kmperors. 
In  1014  several  newspaper  issues  were  Mippre-sed  for 
alleged  lack  of  respect,  to  the  Imperial  Household,  and 
an  <  >saka  paper  was  susj)eiided  for  commencing  the  pub- 
lication of  a  serial.  History  of  an  l-'ffcminaii'  Monarchy. 

<  Mdy  lack  ot  -pace  prevents  tin-,  record  of  injustice 
and  tyranny  bem^  considerably  prolonged.  \\'oe  to  Un- 
official who  dares  to  even  smell  of  heterodoxy.  \Yoe  to 
the  man,  woman,  or  child  who  presumes  to  think  contrary 
to  the  treed  of  the  bureaucracy.  Thorns'  is  the  j  aili 
ot  the  Profes-or  who  strays  from  the  orthodox  and  dares 
to  investigate  for  himself. 

I:i  the  |*>Iiti<  al  hi-tory  of  e\pery  country  statesmen 
have  aji}»ealed  with  more  or  le ••>  >ucrc>«,  to  the  sentiment 
of  the  people.  At  it-  1) -st  Mikadoi-m  --tands  on  the 
ame  ](\p'-l  as  the  reformed  p-li.Jo::  sto,,,l  in  Kn^land 
under  Henry  VIII  or  ^ood  «.)ueen  IM-.  Henry  \lll 
did  t.oi  (are  a  raj)  personally  for  :!ie  Pioj. --1,11:1  t.nih. 
i.o!  d:d  nor  do  the  Sat-uma  a':  I  < 'hodiu  hadi-r--.  care  a 
lap  per-ona!!y  for  tlr-  dr.i:;i!\  o!  t'ie  mo:iar<  h.  I..K! 
v.  a  >  .1  inea'i-  !o  ati  fid  jon'hal  I'-iietit-. 
uoith  a  ma--,  and  ih--  Sho;;un'  po\\i-r  '.\a 
-real  deal  more. 

I'c.it  .M.kalo.  ID  l.a     '.'••'•:}  'a;ii'-d  to  tar  •..•!••.• 
ilia: i    air.     a;»p'-.i!    to      <  P1t:iit'-:it    in     K IK; land    oi 

'   ^«."<    i'-  si- 


KMPKROR    WORSHIP  57 

The  Japanese  arc  notoriously  larking  in  common  seiisr 
and  abounding  in  sentiment.  Tin;  clansmen  have  taken 
advantage  of  these  failings,  to  impress  on  the  country 
a  system  of  government,  having  as  its  first  and  supreme 
object  the  maintenance  of  power  in  their  own  hands. 
That  their  plans  coincided  with  the-  welfare  of  the  coun- 
try was  at  first  an  accident.  That  it  involved  a  cynical 
contempt  tor  the  Sovereign  meant  nothing.  ('ontetnpt 
of  the  d(iimyi)  for  the  Sovereign  was  the  normal  condi- 
tion of  Japan  for  hundreds  of  years  before  the  Restoration. 
The  late  Empress  is  credibly  rejxM'ted  to  have  shrewdly 
realized  this,  and  when  dying  at  Xumad/u  during  tin- 
Naval  Scandal  incidents,  she  said  to  her  women  :  "It 
is  the  final  proof  of  what  those  men  think  of  the  Imperial 
House."  That  the  people  are  shrewd  enough  to  re,ili/e 
it  is  evidenced  by  the  statement  of  the  Asa  hi  Sliirnluin, 
referring  to  Prince  Vamagata  at  the  time  of  the  I'ehaia 
boycott  in  1912  :  "  It  is  bad  enough  that  a  (ienro  should 
shelter  himself  behind  the  Dragon -Throne  (Mikado),  but 
it  is  intolerable  that  he  should  aspire  to  be  the  Dragon 
Throne." 

Mikadoism  within  limits  was  beneficial  to  the  coun- 
try, but  carried  to  extremes,  as  it  has  been,  is  productive 
of  much  evil.  The  repression  of  though',  and  the  suppre-,- 
sion  of  reason  have  been  its  natural  weapons.  Hven  so 
advanced  a  Liberal  as  Count  Okuma  only  last  year 
(1914)  forbade  the  formation  of  a  Labour  Partv,  whilst 
the  suspicion  of  Socialism  always  ha-  been  and  remain- 
a  bar  to  promotion,  and  is  a  passport  to  prison.  It  i, 
not  surprising  that  the  official  educational  in-ti:ut;oi;-  are 
merely  forcing-houses  lor  bureaucracy.  The  future  ol 
Japan  educationally  depend-  on  the  pri\ate  unhersiiie 
at  Keio  and  \Yaseda,  which  are  turning  out  a  class  oi" 
men,  trained  on  foreign  ideas,  and  free  from  the  perversive 
influence  of  officialdom.  That  a  nau<m  bred  and  fostered 
on  the  doctrines  of  divine  favour  should  be  the  epitome 
of  arrogance  and  self -conceit  is  natural.  If  the  statesmen 
who  have  guided  the  nation  so  long  regard  themselves 
as  the  summit  of  earthlv  wisdom,  it  is  a  corollarv  that  their 


58  JAl'AN    AT    THK    CROSS    ROADS 

pupils,  heirs,  and  assigns  should  In.'  self-sufficient  and 
narrow-minded,  and  believe  themselves  tin-  rc[K»>itt)ncs 
and  trustees  of  all  that  is  best  on  earth  and  under  heaven. 
In  neither  England  nor  America  could  a  prominent  news- 
pajK-r  surh  as  Asa  hi  SHirnbun  dare  to  j)iihlish  a  sym{*>Mum 
on,  "  .\\'Jiy  \Ve  should  IK-  1'roud  of  Ourselves,"  and  in 
no  other  country  eould  the  so-called  cultured  classes 
swallow  the  rubbish  contributed  thereto.' 

That  a  nation  professing  a  corner  in  manliness,  loyalty, 
virtue,  and  descent  should  he  impatient  of  criticism  from 
without  is  well  understandable.  The  peptoni/ed  thought 
fed  to  it  by  the  authorities  has  proved  a  wonderful 
digestive  for  the  annihilation  of  its  b-.-in^,  ,md  a  powerful 
emetic  against  the  critical  rii'orts  of  well-meaning  viMiors. 

Destiny  loves  surpri-e-,  but  :t  is  doubtful  whether  the 
country  can  make  any  true  and  lasting  advance  until 
a  mental  humility,  led  from  aixne,  overspreads  the  people, 
and  a  greater  willingness  is  developed  amount  indi- 
viduals and  das-es  to  make  s;irrilices  for  ideas.  In 
Japan  the.  individual  relationship  to  the  sum-total  of 
injustiee  and  evil  is  so  infinitesinial  and  indirect  that 
individuals  do  not  consider  it  worth  tiidnine;  for.  Kven 
when  they  have  do;i'-  -o  their  eilorts  tailed,  and  they 
thetn-elve>  hav  been  crushed  by  the  h<M\  y  hand-  and 
slim  dealings  of  the  Mikadoist>.  Joubert  -ays:  "("e-t 
la  ton"  et  Ie  droit,  <jni  re,  dent  toute-,  eludes  d.uis  !•• 
nionde  :  l.i  torce  en  attendant  le  droit."  In  Japan  the 
condition-  are  rever-ed.  Mi:dit  is  n:_dit,  an<l  the  only 
nnvdit  i->  the  [xiu'er  of  the  <  lans,  \\hicli  r\er<  i>e  an  ali 
pervadin.L,'  evd  inlluen'  ••.  in  which  their  leadei-  display 
an  in;-e:iuo!i>  pride.  That  the  pre-ent  condition  ot  afl.nr  •. 
<  ani.ot  Ion;;  contni'ie  i^  o1)\  lolls.  It  i^  an  axiom  that 
i>  nearest  where  reiv->ion  i^  severest.  I  he 


1   "  l'.c<  .n:  •<•  "I    'Hir   unl>;'(kc:i    l:iip<n.il   il-.n.i  ;v. 
h.i     .i;r.ti:in,'    !'.'».'•   it.      I  .'  >v.i!tv  .t     l.crr  !•>  thi-  TM<  •!!.!»«  ! 
(»;<•  \Vr  ,t  '     (liar.   II    I"..',  .11'!.  i'. 

"Ill'-  '  .u!\  n  it  i'  'ii   w!    .  i-    !,i  '.><:;•  ;'"'•-•    !  MI  k   t  \v<  ::' 
<•'  \\rt    ii:itiM!!    in    t  !.<•  \\  !:•  Ir    *A  i  i  ii!    :..i      i    IHMIV  <  I    ^;iti 
.«<  :  .!;    i    i?s«  \i  •  .11  ti.--  .•!'  •!   •  •!  'i'.itv      .  l;.u  !•::   I  »>  :n. 


EMPEROR    WORSHIP  59 

hour  will  bring1  its  creditors  in  Japan  as  elsewhere  and 
mob  law  has  become  alarmingly  frequent  in  Tokyo  of 
late  years.  That  the  mobs  have  hitherto  been  the  hired 
agents  of  opposing  factions  and  interests  matters  not. 
Once  the  national  consciousness  is  really  awakened  tin- 
mob  will  be  the  national  representative's,  and  Hainan's 
gallows  will  decorate  the  capital. 


APPENDIX 

JAPANESE    COURT    LADIES    AXD     LIKE' 

The  everyday  life  of  the  Japanese  Court  is  practically 
unknown  to  the  public,  in  spite  of  the  increasing  enter- 
prise of  Japanese  journalism,  which  lias  made  repeated 
etTorts  to  break  clown  the  barrier  of  exclusiveness  and 
mysticism  which  has  hitherto  guarded  all  approaches  to 
the  inner  apartments  of  the  Chiyoda  Palace.  Invariably, 
however,  these  attempts  to  violate  the  sanctity  of  the 
Imperial  precincts  have  ended  in  failure,  and  until  quite 
a  short  while  ago  no  consecutive  and  intelligent  account 
of  what  actually  goes  on  at  Court  had  ever  been  pub- 
lished. During  the  illness  of  the  late  Sovereign,  how- 
ever, a  number  of  persons  of  the  outside  world  were; 
admitted  to  the  Inner  Palace,  and  occasional  glimpses 
of  palace  life  appeared  in  the  Press  as  the  n. suit  of 
indiscretions  on  the  part  of  some  of  these  visitors. 

The  death  of  the  Emperor  Mutsuhito,  who  has  now 
joined  the  ranks  of  the  Sacred  .Yncestors  with  the  post- 
humous title  of  '  Meiji  Tenno,'  and  the;  retirement  of 
the  Lord  Chamberlain,  Prince  Tokudaiji,  have  removed 
from  the  scene  the  two  most  conservative  obstacle^  in 
the  way  of  a  more  intimate  knowledge  of  palace  happen- 
ings. The  succession  of  the  Prince  Katsura,  ex-Premier, 
to  the  posts  of  Lord  Chamberlain  and  Keeper  of  the 
Privy  Seal  meant  the  influencing  of  the  new  monarch 
in  more  liberal  paths  than  could  ever  have  been  hoped 
for  under  the  rule  of  the  ascetic,  conservative,  and  highly 
1  Written  in  101 }. 


6o  JAPAN    AT    Till-!    CROSS    ROADS 

ari-t<»<  r.itir  Prim e  Tokudaiji.  The  new  Kmperor  and 
hi-  charming  contort,  the  Krnpress  Sadeko,  an-  much 
more  modern  in  their  ideas  and  thought  than  the  late 
ruler,  and  it  ha-  n  >t  taken  Ion:;  tor  .-everal  cxpre-r>;on-> 
'.i  their  liberal  tendencies  to  be  ome  e\ -icleiit . 

'"a  the  day  following  the  acee-sion  1IU  Majesty  d-me 
to  the  palace  with  tin;  Lmpre»  by  hi-,  side,  and  ordered 
tiiat  in  future  thi-  course  -.hould  always  |>e  followed. 
Innovation  number  ( >ne.  On  th--  s  mu-  occasion,  when 
the  Kmperor  received  the  JIL;h  (  Mlii  t-rs  oi"  State,  his 
Ministers  and  Councillor.^,  in  oid.-r  to  read  to  them  the 
Kdict-  "i  Aefi---ion  and  Suci  e>  i-)n,  the  Minj^n^-  had 
her  place  t»y  hi-  -id  •  in  the  tlnnne-room,  whi!-t  the 
oli'uei-  and  ntiieials  pre-ent  had  heen  in\  itt-d  to  bnn:; 
iheir  ur.e-  \\ith  them  to  the  ( < -n  mom  .  Innovations 
l\s'»  and  '1  hree.  \\  h  -n  the.  member-  »f  the  ( 'orp-  I  hp'o 
matKjUe  J)re-eiited  iheir  iTedellt  ia  Is  and  utl'-red  their 
( -ondi  ile-K  .  .ind  congratulations  th'-y  were  reeeived  by 
the  I-.nip<-:'ir  .tiid  l-.mpre-.^  tn^ether,  in-ie,id  of,  a^  in 
i'ld'"i  time  ,  b'-in^  tn>i  pri--en'.ed  to  the  MmpM-ror  .nid 

then      le-MIM^      to     CnlleCI      their     lem.de     beli  ill;-;  Mil,.-     betnle 

tu'inx  a-ain  int  i  <  >d:;e<-d  into  ain»'h.  r  t  lii'one-roi  iin  t"  b«- 
rci  eived  t>\  the  Knipr'---.  [niio\aiion  lour  -and  thei-- 
are  other-. 


ill-'      ne\v      Ma;    -lies      !ia\e     not      \  et      removed      to      the 
<  'In  .nd  a     I'a'a1  e     !  in-    i  ••   i  le:n  <     « >t    th"    !  e.;^  ;  i  i;.;    in1  'ii.-.'  >  h. 
Iri'ii;    the    AKa  aha    Pal  ire.   .1    br.ind-neu'    (,eiman    stnii 
t:::e,    uh-i  h   i-    ili  •   h  »:ne  «.|    ;ln«  '  'ro\vn    Pnn«  e  i»t    Japan 
I  h;      i-   'ittin.;    to   ;ir-  IP  «     ,  r.y  <it    tip-    lo'iner  under  m:  • 
a    ih.pii.ii    IUMJ-OU;    and    repair.      \Vh--n    they    dn.    h"\s 

'•'.-•;,  •••>  into  T<  ideni  ••  tin-It/  it  1>  J.roiiable  that  the 
••Id  oi  !.-r  v.;.l  '[>••  (  h  in  .'•  1.  and  that  life  m  the  palate 
v. :  1  no  ion  er  itiliow  t!i--  old  m;.  t-aiai  routine  %\h:t!i 
v.  i  .1  M  i.i-.-  i  -,\  i'h  the  .!  t\  -.  oi  Mu;  u  hi  to.  Ali  the  mote 
in'.-:.  ;,  tin  re!  :••.  aita«  IH>  to  ;}M.-  ''intent-,  ..1  a  «mal! 
•.-.l';:;i'-  it;  '  {.'.''•  ; di-d.  Jo/.u.n  Mt'iio-.^ititr:,  or  :he 
;  ;  /;;•/;.  ,i  i't;c<  <•/  (  ourt  I  <.ili<'\,  to  v.  h:'  h  the  unter  i^> 


EMPEROR    WORSHIP  61 

partially  inch-bird  for  some  of  the  information  contained 
in  this  article. 

The  Chiyoda  Palace  is  hidden  away  in  the  immense 
compound,  behind  the  triple  moat  and  high  walls,  which 
occupies  practically  the  centre  of  th«-  city  of  Tokyo. 
Besides  the  palace  itself  the  compound  contains  barracks 
tor  a  regiment  of  guanU,  jhe  offices  of  the  Imperial 
('al)inet,  of  the  1'iivy  Council,  of  the-  Ministry  of  the 
Household,  immense  stables,  telegraph  station  and  po^t- 
oflice,  power  and  water  stations,  and  residences  for 
almost  innumerable  officials.  The  two  entrance  best 
known  to  the  public  are  the  '  Nijuba-hi  '  and  the 
Sakashita  Gate,'  both  of  which  are  on  the  great  open 
space  to  the  south.  The  '  Xijubashi  '  i->  the  Imperial 
entrance,  and  literally  means  the  '  double  bridge-,'  in 
consequence  ot  the  two  bridges  rising  one  over  tin- 
other  spanning  the  moats.  Its  |>onals  are  only  opened 
lor  the  Kmperor  and  Kmpress,  for  visiting  Royalties, 
and  for  the  Ambassadors  of  the  Towers.  The  '  Saka- 
shita Gate,'  which  is  that  by  which  most  mortals  enter, 
leads  directly  to  the  Household  Department,  whence  tin- 
visitor  is  forwarded  to  any  other  points  within  the  com- 
pound which  he  is  authorized  to  enter.  Nobody  is 
allowed  to  enter  without  a  pass,  which  varies  lor  foot 
passenger,  ricksha',  and  carriage. 

The  palace  itself  is  divided  into  what,  are  called  the 
'Outer'  and  'Inner'  Courts.  The  former  is  that  to 
which  the  world  of  officials,  nobles,  and  diplomats  has 
a  limited  admittance-.  Its  spacious  halls  and  apartments 
are  all  furnished  in  foreign  style.  It  is  illuminated  with 
electricity,  warmed  by  steam  heating,  and,  indeed,  there- 
is  little  internally  to  dillerentiate  it  from  the  palaces  of 
other  countries.  Externally  the  architecture-  is  Japanese, 
but  then-  H  no  great  show  about  tin-  building,  which 
compares  unfavourably  wiih  many  ot  the  mansion-,  built 
by  the  richer  Japanese  nobles  atul  business  men.  The 
structure-  is  one-storied,  rambling,  ami  in  parts  visibly 
ancient. 

The    'Inner'    Conn    adjoins   the    'Outer,'    being1   con- 


62  JAPAN   AT   THE   CROSS    ROADS 

nected  with  it  by  a  wide  corridor.  It  is  both  externally 
and  internally  absolutely  pure  Japanese.  The  floors  arc 
covered  with  white  tatanii,  the  walls  of  the  rooms  arc 
shogi  (sliding  paper  screens  >,  the  furniture,  mats  for 
-itting  and  low  tables  of  white  wood  for  eating.  The 
illumination  is  entirely  by  candles  set  in  andon,  whilst 
warmth  is  obtained  only  from  hibachi,  or  charcoal 
bra/.iers.  In  the  Inner  Court  is  neither  gas  nor  elec- 
tricity nor  even  an  oil  lamp.  The  reasons  are,  firstly, 
the  danger  of  tire,  the  extinction  of  which  would  mean 
the  intrusion  of  unhallowed  feet  within  the  semi-sacred 
domain  ;  and  secondly,  in  order  to  preserve  the  unique 
Japanese  characteristics  of  the  building.  The  Inner 
Court  is  practically  the  only  residence  in  Tokyo,  of 
high  or  low  degree,  \\iihout  ihe  slightest  trace  of 
\\V-tern  civili/ation,  which  has  ostensibly  conquered  the 
country.  During  the  illness  of  the  late  Kmperor  a  brass 
bedstead  w.is  introduced  into  the  palace,  which  was  the 
lir.-t  introduction  into  the  Inner  Palace  of  any  piece 
of  foreign  furniture.  As  a  matter  of  fart,  the  Imperial 
patient  never  >utiiciently  rallied  to  be  able  to  Ix1  moved 
on  to  it,  and  it  was  later  returned  to  the-  importers. 
However,  foreign-made  sheets  and  pillows  were  used 
instead  of  the  native  hubutayc,u\\  which  His  late  Majesty 
generally  n-po.sed. 

So  >trict  are  the  precautions  against  lire  that  ;i_ll 
tic-  kitchen  stoves,  which  are  of  the  Usual  Japanese 
~t\le,  and  all  hihachi  mu.st  be  extinguished  at  eight 

Ytld'k  III  the  evening,  even  III  the  coldest  Weather. 
Al!  ni;.;hl  a  ua'.>h  is  kept  by  several  o|  the  servmg- 
uomi-n  a:;un-t  a  possible  outbreak  as  the  result  ot 
leli'.'hting  hib-ichi  or  nveriuinin;^  ol  randies. 

Si  kvrrr    IN    i  nr    PAI.ACI:. 

1  h<  \\1, •  .]••  i  if  ih  •  er\  ici-  in  i  he  jiala-  e  is  monofxili/cd 
b  v  won  i'  n,  '.'.I'll  ih'-  •  \i  cj>t  ion  ot  t  h<  •  1  iujwilal  paj;es, 
uho  are  the  in--  -  -  :i.,d  bi  tvveen  tl),-  <  »;iti-r  and  iln- 
Inner  (  '/;ir!  Inde-d,  v,i;h  th<:  e\iej»tion  ot  these-  ainl 


KMPEROR   WORSHir  63 

of  the  Princes  of  the  Blood,  who  have  the  entree,  no 
male,  beyond  an  occasional  carj>enter  or  plumber,  is 
ever  seen.  Not  even  the  high  dignitaries  of  the  House- 
hold, the  Chamberlains  or  the  Masters  of  Ceremonies, 
are  admitted  beyond  the  ante-rooms.  Even  the  presence 
of  a  carpenter  to  carry  out  some;  small  job  is  a  great 
rarity,  owing  to  the  precautions  which  have  to  be  taken 
and  the  purifications  which  have  to  be  undertaken.  Also 
the  late  Emperor  disliked  excessively  the  intrusion  of 
strangers,  partly  owing  to  his  innate  conservatism  and 
partly  owing  to  a  certain  meanness,  which  objected  to 
the  performance  of  repairs.  There  is  a  story,  which 
if  not  true  is  at  least  ben  trovato,  that  on  one  occasion 
on  entering  one  of  the  rooms  and  finding  a  workman 
there  fixing  new  paper  in  the  shogi,  he  sent  for  the 
ladiete  of  the  Court  and  delivered  a  short  lecture  on 
economies,  informing  them  that  when  the  s/iogi  wanted 
repairing  they  should  not  have  a  workman  in  to  fix 
up  new  paper,  but  that  they  should  themselves  patch 
it  up  with  old.  A  certain  Privy  Councillor,  who  was 
in  attendance  during  the  last  days  of  the  Emperor 
and  entered  his  room,  told  the  present  writer  that 
the  paper  of  the  shogi  was  brown  with  age  and 
patched  in  many  places,  giving  the  room  a  very  gloomy 
appearance. 

The  three  essentials  of  palace  life  would  appear  to 
be  cleanliness,  ceremony,  and  tradition,  or  rather  super- 
stition. To  such  an  extent  is  the.  cult  of  cleanliness 
carried  that  even  the  maids  who  attend  on  the  Court 
ladies  during  their  toilet  perform  their  duties  on  their 
knees,  and  on  no  account  must  they  touch  their  own 
lower  limbs.  Should  this  accidentally  happen  the  oilend- 
ing  maid  must  instantly  withdraw  and  undergo  a  course 
of  purification  before  she  can  again  appear  before  her 
mistress.  If  the  rules  with  regard  to  the  maids  of  the 
ladies-in-waiting  are  so  strict,  it  may  be  imagined  that 
those  with  regard  t;>  the  personal  attendants  of  their 
Majesties  are  even  more  so.  It  is,  of  course,  well 
known  that  all  service  before  their  Majesties  has  to 


64  JAPAN    AT   THE    CROSS    ROADS 

be  performed  on  the  knees,  and  it  is  not  etiquette  to 
approach  their  Majesties  except  on  the  knees,  even  tlKi 
physicians  who  attended  on  the  late  KnijxTor  during 
his  last  illness  not  beiiv,;  exempted  from  this  rule.  It 
is  also  common  knowledge  that  no  one-  may  touch  the 
Imperial  jv-rson  with  ungloved  hands.  Last  July  Drs. 
Miura  and  Aoyama  obtained  permission  for  the  first 
time  to  take  the  Imperial  pulse  without  the  interposition 
of  a  piece  of  silk  between  their  finders  and  the  patient's 
wri-t,  \\hilst  for  the  first  time,  on  record  medical  instru- 
ments \\ere  applied  to  the  Imperial  body.  This  rule 
is  equally  strict  for  the  ladies-in-waiting,  and  especially 
so  when  in  attemlaii'  e  on  their  Majesties  when  bathing 
or  at  their  toilet.  There  is  a  story,  confirmed  by  the 
polii  e  re  onU.  of  how  a  coolie  was  sent  to  prison 
tor  tout  h:n;_;  the  Kmpn-ss  I  )ow. tier's  hands.  Some  years 
a;.;- 1  the  carriage  in  wlii  h  the  Lmpre-s  Dowager  was 
drixin.;  in  the  country  ne  ir  Nuina/u  met  with  a  slight 
acci<lent,  and  a  io<»lie  wot  kin.;  near  by  at  the  tune  ran 
up  and  assisted  the  Kmpiv^s  I  )owa;^er  to  alight,  in  so 
doin:;  to-aching  h-T  baud  witli  h;s  own  bare  one.  lie 
xxa-  arrested  and  punish"!  for  ins  presumption. 

'Tin;   LAI  >n->-i  \-\VAITINV,. 

'I  he  (''.urt  ladii-s  are  dixided  into  scxen  grades 
^/KI/!,  It  nil.  (-<>/i  /<'://.  Slioiijif  ^on-Shonji.  Mvo/u.  and 
'.'_(iri-M]'t>/ii .  I  nder  the  .Moii  L-nno  the  rank  of  S/ioji 
xx  a  >  unoi  i  upied,  but  it  has  l>e<  n  reieiitly  announced 
that  the  La  ix  \'ana  ixv.na,  the  iiiother  of  the  prv-eni 
j'.nijifi'or  .m  1  on-1  n|  :!i-  i\\o  o<  . -upaiits  ol  itnji  :.!a>l<-, 
\x:li  be  j»romi»ted  to  th-  rank  «!  Shoji  at  th<-  cornnati"ii, 
*'.  i;h  the  addi'iond  Iillc  <'l  ft'.r!i'-/in-7'MJf(inc,  \s!n<h 
.!.;.«:•  .1  n  ,  -.)  tii  •  I;,.;!  i  r  ot  !;,-•  rt  i.;  iiin,1,  m  •<  ..i'<  h  A  I' 
t  It--  i..  i;i-  • "  ip  .  .n  •  |he  ai  >o;  c-nii-nt  ioned  •  •.  <-n  .  t  a<  i-  • 
i  i'it;  .t  >  h:  !i  •  >'\i<  :als,  and  <  a'l  in-  .id  n  ill  ted  into  the 
I  ..  ••;)•  e  -.x.il.o-.ii  hi. i' bain  c.  L»--io',s  them  i  om  •  three 
r  i<l'  ''f  (  '.:;i.  x'.oni'  ;i  A  vi>\'!;,  .S //.'/:.'  V".  a:id  /<>\/:.  . 
I)..  iir  t  nani<-d  are  th'  k'-'-peis  of  ih<-  \\aidr' ibes/ 


EMPEROR   VVORSHir  65 

the  second  arc  the  attendants  on  the  Court  ladies 
(Shimyo  actually  means  needlewoman),  whilst  the  third 
arc  actually  housemaids  and  maids  of  all  work.  None 
of  the  last  three  grades  can  be  admitted  to  the  Presence. 
There  are  about  thirty  ladies-in-waiting  and  between 
two  hundred  and  fifty  and  three  hundred  Court  women. 
The  monthly  emoluments  of  Tenji  is  £25,  of  gon-Tenji 
£20,  of  Shonji  ^15,  of  gon-Shonji  £10,  and  so  on  in 
a  descending  scale. 

The  ladies-in-waiting  rise,  when  on  duty,  at  six 
o'clock,  and  an  elaborate  toilet  has  to  be  gone  through, 
of  which  the  coiffeur,  dressed  in  the  exacting  but  charm- 
ing ancient  Court  style,  is  not  the  least  important  part. 
The  ladies  take  an  early  breakfast,  which  is  prepared 
by  their  maids,  and  then  don  their  morning  Court  robes, 
which  are  generally  of  Western  cut,  the  orthodox 
Japanese  ceremonial  robes  being  reserved  for  great 
ceremonial  occasions.  Each  lady  has  the  sen-ices  of 
three  maids  for  her  toilet,  which,  as  already  related, 
have  to  be  performed  on  the  knees.  This,  however, 
is  not  really  such  a  hardship  as  might  appear,  for  in  the 
first  place  all  service  before  a  superior,  according  to 
ancient  custom,  is  performed  on  the  knees,  a  practice 
to  which  the  women  have  long  been  accustomed  ; 
and  secondly,  the  furniture  of  the  ladies'  apart- 
ments being  entirely  Japanese,  they  themselves  have 
to  kneel  on  the  floor  before  the  little  mirrors  and  dress- 
ing-tables. Immediately  breakfast  is  finished  the  ladies 
proceed  to  the  Imperial  apartments  for  attendance  on 
the  Emperor  and  Empress.  At  11.30  a.m.  a  tiffin 
is  served  to  each  in  their  rooms.  This  is,  however, 
only  a  formality,  for  all  the  food  eaten  by  the  ladies 
on  duty  is  sent  to  them  from  the  Imperial  kitchen, 
whilst  that  prepared  for  them  by  their  own  maids  is 
remitted  back  to  the  maids  for  their  own  consumption. 
The  food  is  always  Japanese,  served  in  Japanese  style. 
At  three  o'clock  in  the  afternoon  fruits  and  sweet- 
meats are  served,  and  dinner  at  five  o'clock.  All  these 
meals  are  formalities  in  the  same  manner  as  the  tiffin, 

5 


66  JAPAN    AT    THK    CROSS    ROADS 

being  sent  nut  again  fur  the  delectation  of  the  maids, 
whilst  the  genuine  edibles  are  sent  in  from  the  kitchens. 
About  three  o'clock  in  the  afternoon  the  ladies  change 
into  Japanese  robes,  which  they  infinitely  prefer  to  the 
tight-titling  corseted  dresses  of  the  West,  which  rarely 
suit  either  their  figures  or  their  faces.  Bedtime  comes 
about  ten  o'clock,  the  period  after  dinner  being  devoted 
generally  to  conversation  with  the  Imperial  couple  or 
to  some  kinds  of  parlour  games  or  to  versifying,  of 
which  the  late  Kmperor  was  very  fond  and  in  \\hich 
he  was  most  proficient. 

THK  KYOTO  ATMOSPHKKK. 

Nearly  all-- indeed  there  is  only  one  exception  — the 
Court  ladies  are  the  daughters  of  Kyoto  nobles,  which 
to  a  certain  extent  accounts  fur  the  effeminate  atmo- 
sphere in  the  Inner  I'alace.  Although  the  late  Kmperor 
was  the  ruler  who  introduced  into  Japan  Western  civi- 
li/ation  and  manner-,  and  removed  his  <  apital  to  Tokyo, 
then  (ailed  Yedo,  he  himself,  <  \t  ept  on  State  occasions 
and  for  reasons  of  Slate,  remained  entirely  imperviou^ 
to  Western  intluence,  and,  indeed,  rarely  allowed  n  to 
enter  .it  all  into  his  private  lite.  If  Tokyo  -w.is  his 
re-nience  and  capital,  Kyoto  remained  the  home  ol  Ins 
\outh  and  his  heart,  and  his  private  inclinations  were 
st lengthened  1>\  his  being  surrounded  jn  his  private  lite 
by  Kyotan  Influence-,.  Not  only  have  the  ladies-in- 
uaiting  been  born  oi  Kyoto  >tock,  and  thus  inherited  the 
tradition--  of  the  old  capital,  but  no  language  e\.  ept 
the  Kyotaii  <lialect  is  spoken  \sithin  the  prec  in<  t-,  nt 
the  Inner  ('oiirt.  A  knowledge  of  that  dia!<-«  t  is  a 

s/V/c  t/llil  'inn  to  eliMalne  into  ( 'olirt  service.  e\  en 
though  the  Tok\o  ihalei  t  i>  the  language  ot  the 
Sta'e  and  the  -taildaid  ot  the  «•(  IIHM!  imia!  .c;t  l.oul  le-- 
I.\r;i  th<-  >ueetineats  to:  pa!a>e  c  on  >uii:[»:  ion  aie 
ina'ie  in  K.oto.  and  no  other-,  are  knoujngls 
admitted, 


KMl'KROR    WORSHIP  67 

A  M  US  F.  .\  1 1:  NTS    IN    'III  !•:    I '  A  [ .  A  ( •  F. . 

Except  on  the  rare  occasions  \vhcii  they  accompanied 
the  Kmprcss  Dowager  to  attend  some  charity  function, 
or  to  visit  some  school,  or  acted  as  the  Kmpre-^'s 
messengers  on  occasions  of  congratulation  or  condolence, 
the  ladies-in-waiting  never  leave  the  palace  precincts. 
The  result  is  that  most  of  them  are,  very  naturally, 
most  ignorant  of  the  affairs  of  the  world,  and  even  ot 
things  of  the  most  common  nature.  The  one  lady  who 
has  been  in  a  theatre  is  regarded  as  approximating  to 
an  adventuress.  It  is  stated  that  the  most  anxious 
hope  of  some  of  them  is  to  one  day  ride  in  a 
tramcar,  their  curiosity  having  been  excited  by  the  sight 
of  those  which  run  around  the-  palace  walls.  What 
their  state  will  be  when  they  ride  in  the  automobiles 
recently  ordered  from  Kurope  for  the  use  of  the  palace 
ii  is  hard  to  prophesy.  On  the  other  hand,  they  art- 
well  read,  as  there  is  no  longer  a  censorship  on  the 
books  and  papers  introduced  into  the  palace. 

In  order  to  counteract  the  hypochondriacal  tenden- 
cies of  a  life  so  grooved  as  that  of  the  Inner  Court 
the  Kmprcss  Dowager  some  years  ago  insisted  on  the 
ladies  taking  horse-riding  exercise  within  the  palace, 
grounds.  Some  of  them  indeed  attained  considerable 
distinction  in  this,  and  one  of  them,  the  I.ady  Shogenji, 
though  only  of  the  lowest  grade,  go/i-AI rofit,  \\as  pro- 
moted, on  account  ot  her  equestrian  skill,  to  be  Her 
Majesty's  personal  attenda.it  when  riding.  It  i-,  n-lated 
that  this  lady  was  so  proficient  as  to  be  able  to  indulge 
in  trick  riding  and  the  hau'.c  ccolc  for  the  enjoyment 
of  the  late  Kmperor,  who  when  younger  was  himself 
no  mean  performer  on  horseback. 

Fi-hing  is  another  amusement  at  Court,  for  although 
the  Chiyoda  1'alace  has  no  provision  for  this  the  llama 
Detached  1'alace,  \\huh  is  situated  mi  the  shores  of 
Tokyo  Hay,  gives  ample  opportunities.  The 
Dowager  is  particularlv  ton  I  ot  the  sport, 
summer  often  drives  across  the  city  to  tin- 
residence  to  enjo\  it. 


68  JAPAN    AT   THK    CROSS    ROADS 

All  the  ladies  are  encouraged  to  interest  themselves 
in  gardening,  and  each  of  them  has  a  portion  of  the 
gardens  allotted  to  her  care.  Quaint  stories  are  told. 
some  of  them  doubtless  true  and  others  certainly  ex- 
aggerated, of  the  wilderness  which  formed  the  Imperial 
gardens  on  the  arrival  of  the  Court  from  Kyoto. 
Badgers,  lynxes,  and  wild  rats  were  abundant,  and 
sufficiently  wild  to  attack  the  women  when  crossing 
the  gardens  at  night. 

SUPERSTITION. 

Although  foreign  influence  and  customs  have  obtained 
a  considerable  hold  in  Japan,  there  is  still  a  gre.it  deal 
of  attention  paid  to  ancient  tradition,  superstition,  and 
necromancy.  During  the  illness  of  the  Crown  Princess 
a  few  years  ago,  and  again  during  the  last  days  of 
the  Kmperor  Mutsiihito,  the  houses  of  fortune-tellers 
were  thronged  with  visitors,  from  the  highest  to  the 
lowest  seeking  to  know  the  ultimate  result.  Indeed 
on  some  occasions  the  police-  had  to  clear  the  narrow- 
streets  to  prevent  the  traffic  being  blocked.  Again, 
tlie  funeral  of  the  late  Kmperor  was  origin. illy  intended 
for  September  loth,  but  the  augurers  objected  as  this 
day  is  believed  to  be  unlucky,  and  eventually  the 
obsequies  took  place  on  September  I  }th  and  I4th,  the 
latter  of  which  was  abominably  wet. 

It  is  a  custom  at  Court  in  times  of  drought  for  the 
ladies  to  hang  up  in  the  tree.s  in  the  gardens  fcru- 
tt'rtthozu.  or  dolU  of  silk  paper.  These  are  invocations 
to  the  deitie-,  to  send  rain,  and  as  they  are  left  until 
rain  doe->  come  may  be  presumed  to  be  uniformly  MK  - 
ce-sful.  When  at  last  the  i.iin  de>cends  the  dolls  are 
re-rued,  soaked  in  sake,  and  floated  away  down  the 
ino.it . 

In  the  p.tl.K  e  is  also  preserved  a  quaint  sjx-c  ih<  for 
he. ii  1. 11  lie-,  and  stoHU'K  ll-a<  lies.  It  ioiisi,t-,  ot  folding 
the  lea\«-s  of  tli«-  sweet  iu>li  in  a  bandage,  winch  is 
then  tied  atounil  th<-  ln.t<l  oi  the  waist .  the  u  Inle  leil.un 


EMPEROR   WORSHIP  69 

charms  are  recited.  It  is  related  that  on  one  occasion 
Admiral  Count  Yarnamoto  was  visiting  the  late  Prince 
I  to,  and  complained  of  suffering  from  a  terrible  head- 
ache. The  Princess  I  to  overhearing  the  remark  imme- 
diately sent  for  one  of  her  maids,  formerly  in  service 
in  the  Court,  who  had  often  claimed  to  have  an  infallible 
remedy  for  headaches.  The  maid,  on  learning  die 
trouble,  immediately  prepared  her  bandage  of  sweet 
rushes,  which  she  insisted  on  tying  round  the  Admiral's 
head,  to  the  immense  amusement  of  his  host  and 
hostess. 

Whenever  the  Emperor  or  Empress  left  the  palace 
it  was  customary  for  the  ladies  to  hang  incantations  for 
line  weather  in  the  trees  in  the  garden. 

DRESS. 

As  already  related,  the  ladies  wear  in  the  morning 
foreign  dresses,  as  also  whenever  they  accompany  the 
Empress  outside  the  palace.  For  a  long  time  the  dressing 
of  the  Imperial  Princesses  and  of  the  ladies-in-waiting 
was  entrusted  to  the  Baroness  Sannomiya,  an  English 
lady  from  Hull,  who  married  the  late  Baron  Sannomiya, 
who  was  Master  of  Ceremonies.  In  their  own  rooms 
and  when  in  attendance  during  the  afternoon  or  evening 
Japanese  costume  is  worn.  The  kimono  is  always  of 
white  silk  habutayc,  which,  by  the  way,  is  almost  the 
regulation  costume  at  Court,  the  Emperor  and  Empress 
both  wearing  the  same  when  they  don  native  costume. 
With  the  kimono  are  worn  scarlet  hakama,  or  petticoat 
trousers,  and  over  these  the  ucfiikakc,  or  long  over- 
dress with  train.  The  uchihakc  worn  by  the  ladies 
in  their  private  apartments  is  very  showy  and  elaborate, 
often  with  the  most  beautiful  patterns  embroidered  on 
it  in  gold  thread.  (It  is  forbidden  for  any  one  in  the 
Imperial  entourage  to  wear  purple,  which  by  ancient 
custom  has  been  reserved  for  Imperial  persons  only. 
This  rule  docs  not,  however,  apply  outside  the  palace.) 
For  attendance  in  the  Presence  the  uchikakc  is  not 


;o  JAI'AN    AT    Till-;    CROSS    ROADS 

generally  so  elaborate  and  gaudy  as  tho-e  worn  in  tlie 
private  rooms,  and  there  arc  certain  strict  rules  \vith 
regard  to  patterns.  which  have  to  he  selected  in  a>  <ord- 
ancc  with  the  st-av>n  of  the  year.  The  kakt^hita,  <>r 
outer  ohi.  is  s.-.irlei.  and  made  of  >ilk  crepe.  It  \\otiM 
appeal  that  the  <  'otirt  ladies  are  entirely  ignorant  ot 
the  fashions  in  vogue  outside  the  palace,  and  \ery  often 
the\  ue.ir  garm-nts  and  odours  ulneh  would  aura*  t 
attention  in  tip-  most  Bohemian  circles. 

Tin;    I.APY    YA.\.\C,I\\  AKA. 

Ih'  pnncipal  ladie--;n-uaiting  are  the  Lady  Yana- 
gmaia,  the  Lady  Takakura,  and  the  Lady  Sono.  The 
tir-t  n,  lined  \\as  the  favourite  lady-in-waiting  ot  "he 
I  )owager  I-'.nipre^s,  and  \\as  chos<-n  hy  her  to  he  the 
nioiher  of  the  heir  to  the  throne  when  the  physicians 
\\ere  in-i-t'-nt  that  her  own  hopes  in  that  direction 
nui^t  he  ahand'>n((l.  Lady  Yanagiwara  i>  much  heloved 
at  Court  not  only  lor  the  above  reason,  hut  also  tor  her 
gentle  d;-po-ition  and  her  consideration  tor  her  inferiors 
At  the  -ame  time  she  can.  \\hen  necessary,  command 
the  -tin  te^t  di>'  ij)l:n('.  <  >n  the  marriage  of  the  I'rini'es-, 
Sadeko.  now  I-jnpres^.  to  the  then  ('ro'.vn  I'rince,  Lad\ 
\.iiiti  iv.  a:  a  ua  a]>])ointed  her  guardian,  and  during 
her  ward's  si-nou>  illn  ••-•>  a  few  \eat-  ago  sh,-  made  a 
pilgrimage  to  the  (ira:;d  Shinie-  ot  Ne  and  Yamada 
to  pr.c.  tor  h'-r  rei  ovcry.  Lvery  dav  during  the 
ilhie--  'it  th'-  la:--  Lmperor  ^\\<-  <lr<»\e  to  the  great 
I  'ar,-i]i  Shr;ne  in  Tokyo  io  oiler  up  piayr-,  and  to 
i;i!'l'T..o  p;n:tii  itiHi  i  iv  <  old  water.  She  is  now  lilly- 
e\eii  year->  o!  j.  her  lalh'-r  ha'.'ing  h'-e:i  the  !a-t  A"//:;-. 
o:  (  '<  iiirt  IP  >''  de.  of  hi  -  iine. 


111!       I   AI-V      I    \K.  \KI   i    \      \M>     l-'l.MIMM      l.\  !  !  I  I'M   I      A  I 

(  '<  •!  i/  | 

l.adv    Takal.::!.i     I       (he    oldest    ..I     all     the     Court     ladle,. 
hem-         e\eni',     three      \eal          of      age,      ami      lia\  Ml   ;      hei-Ii      .1 


EMPEROR    WORSHIP  7' 

Court  lady  in  the  time  of  Kornci  Tenno,  grandfather 
of  the  present  Krnperor.  Throughout  the  last  reign 
she  was  a  great  power  at  Court,  and  the  late  Kmperor 
is  reported  to  have  relied  very  much  on  her  wisdom 
and  advice.  She  has  the  exclusive*  privilege  of  using  a 
cushion  when  in  the  Presence,  a  concession  to  her  age 
and  a  tribute  to  the  Imperial  admiration  of  her  talents 
and  perspicacity.  She  has  been  the  stumbling-block  in 
front  of  innumerable  Chamberlain^,  and  "Ministers  of 
the  Household  who  have  striven  to  introduce  a  more 
liberal  o/one  into  the  Inner  Court.  When  the  late  Lord 
Iwakura  drafted  a  scheme  of  reforms  which  would  have 
much  curtailed  feminine  influence,  he  sent  for  the  Lady 
Takakura,  as  First  Lady-in-Waiting,  and  explained  to 
her  his  intentions.  She  looked  at  him  a  little  pityingly, 
and  then  replied  :  "  My  Lord,  these  things  may  be 
very  well,  but,  when  I  take  instructions,  I  take  them 
only  from  my  mistress,  the  Empress."  That  was  the 
end  of  Iwakura's  well-meant  reforms,  for  he  lacked 
the  courage  to  run  the  gauntlet  of  the  corps  of  ladies- 
in-waiting. 

Prince  Ito's  reform  schemes  ended  in  failure  in  much 
the  same  manner,  and  thanks  to  the  same  lady,  who 
easily  proved  that  the  influence  of  Ito  over  the  Emperor 
was  as  nothing  to  that  of  the  feminine,  element  of  the 
Court.  This  is  the  more  extraordinary  inasmuch  as 
Ito's  influence  was  very  strong  indeed  on  the  late 
Emperor,  lie  probably  was  the  only  statesman  to  whom 
the  Emperor  re. illy  opened  his  heart,  and  who  in  turn 
was  not  overawed  by  the  latter's  semi-divine  attributes. 
It  is  often  related  that  he  had  the  custom  of  never 
removing  his  cigar  when  entering  the  palace  precincts, 
to  the  horror  of  the  attendants,  who  were  to  the  last 
in  doubt  as  to  whether  they  should  request  him  to  throw 
away  his  stump  or  not.  .Again,  he  was  accustomed  never 
to  remove  his  hat  until  he  reached  the  ante-room  to  the 
Emperor's  study,  when  he  would  throw  it  on  the  table, 
commanding  the  Chamberlain,  "Tell  His  Majesty  that 
Ito  is  come  !  Ito  reallv  onlv  suffered  two  severe 


72  JAPAN    AT   THK   CROSS    ROADS 

defeats — one  by  the  Satsuma-Choshu  combination  of 
politicians,  the  militarists  of  to-day,  and  the  other  at 
the  hands  of  the  Court  ladies.  He  saw  well  that  the 
hot-house  atmosphere  of  the  palace  must  some  time  be 
cleared,  but  he  himself  failed  to  do  it. 

Count  Hijikata,  for  long  the  Minister  of  the  House- 
hold, was  also  severely  rebutted  "when  he  attempted 
to  correct  the  morality  of  certain  of  the  palace  women. 
He  took  his  complaints  to  their  sujx-riors,  the  ladies-in- 
waiting,  but  their  only  reply  Was  to  recall  a  certain 
delicious  scandal  having  the  Count  and  a  famous  geisha 
as  the  hero  and  heroine.  Later,  however,  he  obtained 
his  revenge,  for  when  the  present  Kmjx-ror  "was  eight 
years  old  the  Emperor  Mutsuhito  determined  to  remove 
him  from  petticoat  influence  ami  to  have  him  brought 
up  in  a  more  modern  and  manly  style.  Hijikata  was 
appointed  his  tutor,  much  to  the  resentment  of  his 
former  foes,  the  ladies-in-waiting.  Before  accepting  the 
appointment,  however,  he  insisted  on  and  obtained  from 
the  Throne,  a  promise  that  under  no  circumstances 
should  interference  with  his  conduct  be  permitted  from 
the  side  of  the  Inner  Court. 

It  is  curious  to  learn  that  Count  Nogi  was  by  no 
means  jx>pular  with  the  [>alace,  the  ladies  nf  which 
were  never  able  to  accustom  themselves  to  the  ideas 
of  his  Spartan  life  and  autocratic  attitude  toward  women, 
especially  in  his  treatment  of  Madame  Shimada,  the 
Principal  of  the  Peeresses  School,  who  objected  to  Nogi's 
plans  to  educ.ite  girls  according  to  the  old  Japanese 
ideals,  and  who  insisted  that  "women  of  the  present 
generation  have  to  have  a  wider  outlook  than  the 
women  of  old  Japan. 

Tin:   LAI>Y  SONO. 

The  Lady  Sono  i-  probably  the  IH-M  known,  by  name 
at  all  event-,  of  the  ladies-in-waiting.  She  is  a  daughter 
of  Count  Sono,  is  still  in  the  early  forties,  .md  ranks 
yet  as  one  of  the  most  beautiful  women  of  Jap. in,  even 


EMPEROR   WORSHIP  73 

according  to  Western  standards.  On  account  of  her 
beauty,  wit,  and  accomplishments  she  "was  one  of  the 
favourite  attendants  of  tin-  late  Krnperor.  She  is  a 
brilliant  poetess,  and  at  the  last  Court  Poetry  Competi- 
tion, held  in  January  1912,  her  verses  on  the  selected 
subject,  The  Crane  on  the  Pine-Tree,  won  the  first 
prize  ffom  over  twenty  thousand  sent  in. 

At  Court  she  is  known  as  '  The  Lady  of  the  Bottle 
Gourd  Suite,'  many  of  the  Court  ladies  being  desig- 
nated by  the  names  of  the  apartments  which  they  occupy. 
The  origin  of  the  name  is  as  follows  :  The  late  Emperor 
strongly  objected  to  the  introduction  of  gas  and  elec- 
tricity into  the  Inner  Palace,  and  as  u  result,  as  already 
mentioned,  light  is  only  obtainable  from  candles  set 
in  lanterns.  In  summer  these  latter  are  of  paper,  being 
made  at  Gifu,  whilst  in  the  autumn  many  of  them  are 
of  hollowed  gourds.  One  evening  when  walking  in 
the  gardens  the  Emperor  was  much  amused  to  find 
a  suite  of  apartments  lighted  by  candles  set  in  the 
gourds,  on  which  comic  figures  had  been  painted.  The 
antics  of  these  as  they  swung  to  and  fro  in  the  breeze 
caused  the  most  hearty  amusement.  Further  examina- 
tion proved  the  rooms  to  be  those  occupied  by  the 
Lady  Sono,  and  they  were  promptly  and  Imperially 
dubbed  '  The  Bottle  Gourd  Suite.' 

Amongst  other  accomplishments  Lady  Sono,  who  is  a 
Buddhist,  is  an  expert  in  ,the  chanting  of  the  Sutras. 
This  was  displayed  in  July,  1912,  when  the  Emperor  was 
ill.  Every  morning  a  lady,  heavily  veiled,  appeared 
at  the  Honmonji  Temple  at  Ikcgami,  and,  sitting  before 
the  shamidan,  proceeded  to  chant  the  Sutras  with  Mich 
admirable  intonation  that  the  prie>ts  came  from  their 
rooms  to  listen  to  her.  W.hen  she  had  concluded  they 
said  that  there  was  no  Buddhist  priest  in  Tokyo 
who  could  compare  with  her.  Inquiry  proved  that 
the  mysterious  visitor  was  no  other  than  the  Lady 
Sono,  gon-Tenji,  praying  for  the  recovery  of  the 
Emperor. 


74  JAPAN    AT    TIIK    CROSS    ROAIXS 

Ki  i  h;n»\   AT   CnrRT. 

It    is  very  curious  to  find  that   Buddhism   is  practiced 

extensively  at  Court,  anil  that  there  is  even  a  splendid 
Buddhist  shrine  within  the  palace.  It  i>  ^rnerally 
a-sumed  ih.it  as  Shinto  is  the  State  religion  it  would 
he  natural  to  find  it  <.-\clu-i\ civ  patroni/ed  at  Court. 
I  he  Lmpie-s  Dowager,  however,  is  a  linn  devotee  of 
Buddhism,  to  which  the  late  Lmpcror  aUo  paid  ;;reat 
le-pect.  In  this  connection  it  must  not  he  forgotten 
that  Shinto  as  the  State  religion  is  a  flower  of  recent 
growth.  having  hecii  used  by  the  statesmen  of  the 
Ke-torat ion  to  weaken  the  influence  of  the  Sho;^unate 
and  to  centre  all  religious  belief  in  the  Throne.  The 
\nhiren  >(-,-(  is  th"  form  of  Huddhisin  mostly  favoured 
at  <'ourt.  thou-h  Lady  Sono  is  a  iollowi-r  of  the 
Ilokkeshu.  It  is  worthy  of  note  that  two  of  tin1  sisters 
ot  the  Lmpie-s  Sadeko  married  the  Lord  Abbotts  of 
the  Hon^wanji  Temples  at  Kyoto,  the  largest  Buddhist 
foundations  in  Japan,  whilst  at  least  one  of  the  I'nn- 
ce-ses  ot  th"  Lushimi  family  is  Abbess  of  a  Uuddhi-l 
(  on\ cnt . 

That  ('-lint  inlluence  may  be  useful  even  in  religion 
th>-  following  anecdote  pro\e->  :  The  grandfather  of  a 
(erlain  l,id> -in-wait ini;  \iMied  and  died  at  the  (  h»m\o^i 
I  emple  ot  the  Nichiren  sect  in  Totoini  I'ro\iu'-e.  It 
\s  a  a  \ciy  ponr  and  «>bseure  institution.  His  grand- 
daughter visited  her  grandfather's  :;ta\c,  .and  on  liei 
tiMiin  deternunr-d  to  <  opy  out  and  present  to  the  t«  mple 
a>  a  prool  of  her  '  ])ieta,  '  the  ei:;ht  \(ilunie>  of  the 
itlp!UIe>  of  ill'-  M-it.  'Ill''  \\oik  \\as  Completed  111 

t  u  o  years,  and  \ci\-  li:i'-  n  looked  on  vjlt-ed^ed  paper, 
\\;'h  illuminated  leiterin;.;,  and  bound  m  ^old  broiadi-. 
|u-t  as  the  temp!.-  authorities  \\ere  decidin;;  that  their 
l.'iiii'-  nr:  t  loiter  onto  n  ,  founda'ions  and  umd  up 
il  alt. ill-,  tir-  volume-,  atiiX'-d,  <oiiveyed  by  a  ('oiirt 
me  en.  i-i  .  Ih'1  f  am«-  o|  \  h--  IIH  idenl  \\  a  -  Hoi  ,<  d  abroad  . 
Adh'T  e.-)'  -.  ;;a;h'-|i-d  1  -und.  A  sllb-i  I  1J»I  loll  list  \\.t^ 

opr-iicd     .md    ea,;eily     iiiled    up.       \\itlun     a    \eiy     short 


KMI'KKOR    WORSHIP  75 

time  a  brand-new,  gold-lacquered  temple  was  erected. 
Funds  still  continued  to  roll  in,  and,  started  by  an  act 
of  filial  devotion,  the  ('hornyogi  i>  now  well  on  the  road 
towards  a  rich  and  prosperous  career. 

Prince  Katsura  retired  lioni  the  Lord  ("hamberlainship 
to  resume  the  1'remiership  in  I)ecember,  i<;i2,  and  died 
in  1013,  being  siicce-ded  by  Prince  Takatsiikasi,  whil  ,1 
H.I.H.  Prince  l''u>himi  became  Keeper  o!  the  Privy  Seal. 
It  was  stated  that  Prince  Kat.-ura  found  palao-  life  too 
dull  for  him,  and  it  was  freely  rumoured  that  the  ladie-, 
of  the  Court  we're  not  unconnected  with  hi^  decision  to 
exchange  Court  life  for  further  adventures  in  the  field 
of  politics.  Certainly  in  a  conversation  I  had  with  him 
in  January,  1913.  he  said  that  women  were  a  good  deal 
more  difficult  to  manage  than  men.  The  Empress 
Dowager,  llaruko,  died  in  1914. 


(   HAI'TKK    TWO 
I'OLITU'S 

1'ARI      I 

<>KK,!N    OK    THK    U)\STI  Tl'TK  )NA1.    M»VI,MK.\r 

I  I  i-.  curious  to  recall  th.it  the  immediate  cause  ot  the 
ri-e  of  a  {Hipular  constitutional  movement  in  Japan  was 
due  to  the  >{>lit  amonx  the  leaders  of  the  Restoration 
movement  on  the  question  of  war  \\itli  Korea  in  1X72. 
I  he  majority  of  the  Council  of  State,  includini;  Sai.^o, 
<iotd,  Ita^aki,  and  < 'kuma  appnncd  of  war,  but  their 
advice  \\a->  overruled  by  luakura,  (  'kubo,  Kido,  and 
Ito,  win)  had  returned  from  a  diplomatic  mi-sion  to 
I. mope  and  Americ.i.  The  war  ]>arty  claimed  that  they 
had  Ix-hind  them  th--  ^U])jM)it  nt  the  nation,  and  loi^ned 
oiiK  <•  to  -tart  a  <  ampai^M  against  the  arbitrary  jM>licy 
'>f  their  ^uperiors.  Thi^  culminated  in  a  memorial 
.id<!r(  -N.-d  d,  the  ('(»iin.il  n|  State  in  Januar\.  I  •'  "-]. 

•  nti'i/inv.     the     method^    of     admini>tration    and     ur^in^ 
:h'-    ad\  i  -aliihty   ot    eitabhshin^    a   ivpie-eniatu  e    ^\->tem 

•  -t    ,'•  ''.'el  nment . 

'1  In-ie   i-  li:tl>-   !(•!-  m   to   -upjxis.-  that    the  memorialist^ 
•    in   p:rei  i  by   .in\    pa!  i  l  it  i'     le<  b;i^  .      Tin  n    sole  cli  -  n  ,- 
to    em'harra>i    the    i  \<>\ •••rnment   and   dn\e    it    out,    in 
h    i.i   ••    th'-\     \\'>'.ild    ii.i\'-    bet-n    able    to    enfoite    then 
ted     p«ill'\'     «it     .1      Koic.ili    \\.tr.          I  l)ey     i\p!(i]'i-d     tht- 
'ii'i-!it    ••!    'h--    \iirmtrtii   and    th«-    pe-ijile    joi    tlp-n    own 
int.i .'<•.    re. Midi'  -      »\    ;h'-    f.n  :    th.tt    th«  \     them  el\es 
be<-n    ii    pi.n   ible   t«>r   th'-  i  mde   tinaii1  lal    s;ep,  whr  h 
th«-   oi;.  in   of    the  popular   unrest. 


POLITICS  77 

The  sentiment  of  that  first  movement  has,  unfortu- 
nately for  Japan,  remained  the  inspiration  of  all  suc- 
ceeding |x)litical  movements.  it  has  been  pungently 
claimed  that  the  duty  of  an  opposition  is  to  opjx>se, 
and  if  this  is  a  true  presentment  of  ]x)litical  doctrine 
no  one  can  object  to  the  tactics  of  the  oppositions  in 
Japan.  It  is  a  justification  of  a  perpetual  warfare 
between  the  '  ins  '  and  the  '  outs,'  and  has  no  relation 
to  the  good  of  the  country.  Especially  must  this  be 
the  case  in  a  country  entirely  new  to  all  forms  of 
constitutional  government,  and  where  the  would-be 
politicians  were  themselves  babes  struggling  with  the 
A  13  C  of  political  theories. 

The  constitutional  leaders  were  trying  to  run  before 
they  could  walk.  As  I  have  stated  in.  a  previous  chapter, 
the  abolition  of  feudalism  necessitated  the  institution 
of  some  sort  of  popular  representation.  Before  that 
abolition  the  people  delegated,  if  serfs  could  delegate, 
their  interests  to  their  lord,  who  was  responsible  for 
them  to  the  Shogunatc.  Once  the  daimyo  lost  his 
authority  over  and  interest  in  his  tenants  and  serfs,  the 
latter  lost  any  claim  on  him  to  be  their  representative 
near  the  administration.  And  even  though  the  influence 
of  the  council  of  the  daimyo  was  more  nominal  than 
real,  there  was  a  final  appeal  over  the  daimyo's  head 
to  the  Shogun  himself.  Though  under  the  cruel  Toku- 
gawa  laws  this  appeal  resulted  disastrously  to  the 
individual  appellant,  it  was  nevertheless  an  effective  one, 
for  it  must  be  remembered  that  to  keep  the  people  con- 
tented and  industrious  was  a  cardinal  aim  of  the 
Shogunate  policy. 

When  the  Western  oligarchy  secured  the  adminis- 
trative power  to  themselves  they  abolished  feudalism 
in  order  to  curb  any  ambition  on  the  part  of  other 
daimyo  to  rival  them.  The  establishment  of  some  sort 
of  a  popular  government  had  no  place  in  their  pro- 
gramme. They  soon  found,  however,  that  some  form 
of  popular  representation  was  a  necessary  corollary  to 
their  own  actions,  and  actually  the  leaders  of  the  clans, 


7-S  JAPAN    AT    Till-:    CROSS    ROADS 

in  exjxvial  Ki<!o,  after  the  return  of  tin-  I \vakura  mission 
fr'»ui  J-.urope.  suj^tMed  the  introduction  of  sonic  form 
of  conMiuiiional  ^ovcnum-nt  based  on  \\Y-tcrn  ideas. 

'1  In-  nio-t  curious  point  al>otn  these  early  movements 
was  their  disconnection  from  any  idea  of  financial  con 
tml.  It  doe-  not  M-em  that  cither  then  or  at  any  other 
time  any  political  party  in  Japan  has  adopted  as  it- 
slo/..m  the  principle  of  '  No  representation,  no  taxation,' 
or,  .liter  the  representation  had  !>een  granted,  the  rii;ht 
nl  the  n.ition's  del-:;. ites  to  control  the  national  ex- 
penditure. \Y:th  the  j*>-~i'd  •  exceptional  Russia,  there 
i-  no  oilier  country  when-  the  pt  oplc  have  1<  ss  j>o\ser. 
in  theory  or  in  practice,  over  the  taxation  and  distribu- 
tion ot  the  fund-.  This  is  abundantly  evidenced  by 
the  fa>t  t!.a*  finance  ha-  lx  e:i  the  national  problem 
lor  the  pa-t  ten  years,  the  first  and  se/ond  Ka'-ura. 
:ii--  lir-t  a;:d  MV  o:.d  Saion;i  Cabinet.^  ultimately 
I  illin:,  on  ai  count  there  >i.  Yet  hevond  occasional 
parnf'.i'l;/  in-nlin  ;e:it  retoim  pro-i amnv.  s  notluii;  ha-> 
'ecu  don-  to  put  th"  finances  on  a  souml  ba^is,  and 
iiotlnn.,  \\hat--oe\er  ha>  bei-n  attempted  by  any  pohtual 
jiir:\  to  in-i-«t  on  such  reform-  bein;^  undertaken. 
Neithei  tip-  leider>  o|  til-  movement  in  i^r>  nor  Kuio 
nor  It. i  had  any  :.;  iimnierm ,;  ;hat  true  po]»ular  repre-en- 
'i.ition  iiie\i;ab!\  connote^  linancial  imitrol.  '1  !)••  i  aus« 
ol  tin-  In 'in. i  in  ;he:r  do.triii'-  i>  partly  to  be  loui.d 
;n  the  ait-ence  ot  an  clleciivc  in«iiii-tai\  ^\--tein,  pait!\ 
ouin:;  to  taxation  i'i  the  j»i-t  ha \in_u',  lepre^cnted  e  - 
lori'-d  '  oiieriiiL1. -.'  partly  in  the  people  not  h.t\  in:; 
ie. ili/cil  'ln-ir  -ejiar.i'e  i-ntit\-,  and  pa:t!\  in  th'-  t.ui 
'  in:  tlii-  <  i:  ii  r  i  on  t  itut  i  malist  -,  uad  i  t .  » id  :  he  pra>  ;  i<  <•  • 
•,-.  lii'h  lh'->  p:ea.  Ird  aboii!  a-  mil  h  or  ,e-  little  a-  a 
p  i :  i  • :  u  n  d  e :  v  a : :  i !  ->  the  p  h ;  a  •  -  h  •••  \  •  t .  i  \ :  h !  . 

I     i  i:i'  i-    h.'l    a     <e-;n:an    took     u  ho     profe- ^>  d    a     kliou - 
•    1    ••    ot     !  .:,.  !i    h.        \\  !,.  n     I     b.id    ..i  <  asjon     to      j-  ak     to 

h<-    •..  •   1    '-'    in.-    0:1    ai>o-.i:     ruen'k    oi    t  \\ '  n*\ -ii\  r 

i, 


-.  d     111       •  •:.     •    ill     •  u:i:e\t  i  If      .  .c. 

\  ••!  -.     nrii  h     tin-     -ami          SOUK-     ),ad 


POLITICS  79 

visited  Europe,  and  they  studied  superficially  the  repre- 
sentative institutions  of  the  West.  On  their  return  they 
preached  catchwords  and  phrases,  without  understanding 
what  they  really  meant.  This  lack  of  reasoning  jxnver 
remains  to-day  one  of  the  marked  liabilities  of  the 
Japanese. 

The  attitude  of  the  clans  towards  the  movement  was 
characteristic.  Men  like  Kido,  Ito,  and  Inouye  were 
mentally  alert  enough  to  reali/.e  that  popular  representa- 
tion must  eventually  he  admitted,  hut  they  recogni/ed 
that  the  country  was  not  yet  .sufficiently  advanced  for 
constitutional  government  in  the  Western  meaning  of  the 
phrase,  anil  that  when  such  a  time  should  arrive  the  con- 
cession of  constitutional  government  would  involve  the 
downfall  of  the  clan  system.  The  Imperial  House-hold 
Department  inspired  an  article  by  Dr.  Kato  Hiroyuki  in 
the  Nichi  Nichi  Shimbun  developing  the  first  of  these 
arguments,  in  which  it  said  :  "  Public  opinion  is  not 
necessarily  a  wise  opinion  nor  a  correct  opinion.  The 
object  of  a  deliberative  Assembly  is  the  legislation  of 
such  laws  as  shall  place  the  peace  and  prosperity  of 
the  nation  on  a  firm  basis.  1  think  that  there  would  not 
be  more  than  sixty  or  seventy  men  of  distinguished 
ability  or  knowledge  in  the  whole  nation.  It  is  impos- 
sible for  these  sixty  or  seventy  men  to  be  taken  as  a 
standard  of  the  whole  thirty  millions  of  the  population. 
Therefore,  though  the  officials  are  not  conceited  and 
arrogant,  as  alleged,  it  cannot  be  wondered  at  if  they 
think  they  are,  at  present,  indispensable  in  the  manage- 
ment of  all  affairs  of  Stale."  ' 

The  policy  of  the  clans,  therefore,  was  to  maintain 
themselves  in  possession  of  the  power,  and  when  the 
day  should  come  when  the  clamour  of  the  people  must 
be  met,  to  grant  such  a  lorm  of  constitution  as  would 
keep  the  power  in  its  existing  hands  whilst  apparently 
yielding  it  to  the  people.  Whil>t  the  bureaucrats  would 
recognize  that  there  was  a  popular  will,  they  alone 
should  be  competent  to  interpret  that  will. 

'   Uehar.i,  /'i'/;7/«j/  Dcrilopmcnt  of  [j\ipan. 


So  JAPAN    AT   THK   CROSS    ROADS 

The  enunciation  of  these  views  showed  the  seccders 
that  they  had  nothing  to  hope  for  from  the  Government. 
They  therefore  retired  to  the  country  with  the  intention 
of  educating  the  nation  towards  the  ideals  they  had  set 
before  themselves.  How  far  the  memorialists  as  a  body 
wen-  dominated  by  the  desire  lor  jx>wer  and  how  far 
by  a  real  devotion  to  political  science  may  be  judged 
from  the  attempt  to  assassinate  Iwakura  in  Januat>, 
iS74,  by  the  Saga  rebellion  in  the  following  year, 
and  by  Saigo's  provocative  actions,  extending  over  three 
years,  which  culminated  in  the  Satsuma  rebellion  of 
I.S77-  Itagaki  and  ( loto  were  the  only  two  prominent 
memorialists  who  really  devoted  themselves  to  the 
political  education  of  the  nation.  The  opposition 
measures  necessitated  a  certain  amount  of  concession 
by  the  (iovernment,  including  the  establishment  of  the 
Senate  as  Legislative  Chamber  and  of  a  Council  of  I'rc- 
fectural  (iovernors  as  an  advisory  body,  whilst  the 
judiciary  was  nominally  made  independent  of  the 
e\e<ume.  Itagaki  was  brought  into  the  (iovernment 
as  an  Imperial  nominee,  and  it  is  evidence  of  the  jxiwer 
the  Imperial  name  was  acquiring  that  he  accepted  office 
in  a  form  of  government  -which  conceded  nothing  what-, 
-oevrr  to  his  own  views.  (lie  resigned  office  in  1870.) 
i'.ut  it  the  (  laiismen  were  \\illing  to  grant  something 
apparent,  they  were  strenuous  in  (lie*  king  the  real  aims 
of  the  democrats.  In  1^7^  a  new  Tress  Law  and  Law 

•  >i    Libel  \\ere  passed,  and  a  reign   of  terror  was   inaugu-, 
rated  a:;auist   journalists  and  political  agitators  and  asso- 
Mation-,.      I  Minn:.;    July,    i^7>,  every  editor  in  Tokyo  was 
aliened     at     li-ast     on>  e,     and     either     heavily     lined     or 

Illlpl  IV  died  . 

1  In-    siate-men    of   the   early   years   of    the    Restoration 

•  li-arly     r<-.t!i/-'d    that    knowledge    is    jxuver    and    that    the 
dl -!  !  liitlt  I' ill    ot     pohtiial    knowledge    |s    the    \\.ty     to    .  oin<T 

po!i;n.d   mt!u<-!i'  c,  and  ih"\    had  no  intention  of   allowing 
ambody    bu:     !  In  n  r  rl\  rs    to    make   that    <orn<-r. 

\\li.i'  lli<-N  i!id  no!  'Midt-i  land  \sas  that  n-pte  <-n:.t!  ion 
«p|  tit-  !)  oi(!r  bad  i\,-n';U.dl\  I me.  and  lli.it  an\ 


POLITICS  81 

efforts  of  theirs  to  cheat  the  natural  development  of 
affairs  would  he  as  successful  as  Canute's  efforts  to 
check  the  tide.  The  more  they  gagged  the  Press  and 
burked  criticism  the  stronger  would  the  opposition 
become.  Fear  is  the  advance  guard  of  reform,  and 
they  could  no  more  evade  the  awakening  conscience  of 
the  people  than  they  could  regain  the  Treaty  ports. 
Every  editor  arrested,  every  newspaper  suppressed,  every 
petition  rejected  was  a  new  milestone  on  the  path  of 
progress.  When  a  famous  divorce  barrister  died  some 
years  ago  The  Times  obituary  notice  began  :  "  No 
woman  knew  how  deeply  she  had  been  wronged  until  she 
heard  Ingersoll,  K.C.,  open  her  case  in  court."  Equally 
no  arrested  Tokyo  editor  realixed  how  deeply  the  freedom 
of  the  Press  had  been  outraged  until  he  read  the  com- 
ment of  his  contemporaries  after  his  release.  Whilst  the 
early  enthusiasm  of  the  Japanese  Press  in  the  cause  of 
liberty  was  superficial  and  fictitious,  an  expression  of 
that  enthusiasm  for  Western  ideas,  good,  bad,  or  in- 
different, which  was  then  so  marked  a  feature  of  Japanese 
life,  the  trials  and  tribulations  of  the  journalists  pro- 
voked a  spirit  of  study  which  gave  rise  to  steady  con-, 
victions.  A  school  of  real  political  thought  came  to 
the  front,  and  was  supported  not  only  by  students  and 
professional  men,  but  obtained  the  backing  of  a  very 
large  number  of  the  people,  who  were  exasperated  by 
the  economic  depression  of  the  country,  a  depression 
deepened  as  a  result  of  the  Satsuma  rebellion. 

The  first  political  movement,  as  I  have  said,  was 
brought  to  a  head  by  a  split  in  the  clans.  The  second 
followed  the  same  course.  After  Saigo's  defection  Kido 
and  Okubo  were  supreme  in  the  council  at  Tokyo.  Kido 
died  in  1877,  Okubo  was  assassinated  in  May,  1878. 
Okuma  Shigenobu,  the  Foreign  Minister,  was  at  the 
head  of  the  government.  Born  in  1838,  he  was  a 
clansman  of  Tosa,  and  a  prominent  member  of  the 
administration  which  succeeded  the  Shogunate.  As 
Minister  for  Foreign  Affairs  he  proved  himself  a 
bureaucrat  among  bureaucrats,  and  was  frankly  out- 

6 


S_>      JAPAN  AT  THK  CROSS  ROADS 

-poken  in  his  detest, m. MI  ot  the  doctrines  of  Fuku/awa 
\nkuhi  and  ha:;aki  Tai-uke.  Such  phrases  as  By 
nature  all  men  are  lx>rn  equal  "  or  "  (iovernnient  is 
instituted  tor  the  people  and  should  be  conducted  by 
tin-  people,"  smell  and  spelt  rank  lieiesy  to  him,  and 
a<  a  Minister  of  State  and  a  i^ood  clansman  he  had 
otti.  ially  and  unofficially  frowned  on  them.  From  the 
revolution  of  1.^07  until  1^7^  the  four  clans,  Satsuma, 
<|io~!iu.  Hi  'en,  and  Tosa.  had  monopolized  the  power 
a>  \\hit  v.as  tailed  the  Sat-cho-hi-to  Coalition,  and  even 
i:n;i'  I  >•  se\eri -eighths  of  the  public  office.-  were  held 
I»Y  th'-ir  parti-an-.  In  1873.  iiowever.  this  combination 
ii  id  been  bioken  up  by  the  split  in  the  Council,  and 
Sat -'ho  ruled  the  roa-t.  Okuma.  though  a  To-a  man, 
hid  >een  retained  in  oflice,  l>ut  with  the  deaths  of  "Kido 
and  <  >kubo  he  -aw  an  opportunity  of  t^'ainin^  for  the 
t\\o  -mailer  clans  the  control  ot  allairs.  He  SWUIIL;' 
ti.'ht  over  to  the  popular  party  and  put  himself  at  the 
he. id  M(  the  constitutional  mov-merit,  and  actually  im- 
pre-sed  I'nnce  An-u;.;awa  and  Prince  Iwakura  with  the 
ad\  inability  ot  -ettin-  up  an  elective  national  assembly 
in  i  >  '•.'; .  So  cleverly  and  s,.,retl\-  did  (  >kuma  carry 
out  In-,  intii;.;ues  that  ,tn  Imperial  Fdict  \\  a  -  on  th--  point 
ot  bei!!v  i--uel  when  Iwakura  uddenlv  decide  1  to  hed^e 
i:n!e  It')  and  other  statesmen  agreed.  Then  the  fat 
wa-  ;n  t  Ir-  lire.  I'h.-  Sat-<ho  leaders  reab/ed  that  a 
-'id. [en  ai  ijuu'-i '-ni  e  to  the  popular  demands  under  the 

.CI-jC'e,       ii|       To  ^l       \\ollld       <  omplelely      \\reek       their       o\SIl 
|  'I  •  -i  !•  in:I'  :alr  e,     a;  d     tlie\      i  on-ei  |U    lit  iy     set     theill-elves     to 

de-ti')\  Mkurna's  influence.  In  the  u-ual  m.iiiner  ot 
|apane-e  p'Mi'i'-,  ,i  red  herring  \\a-  dra\vn  .across  the 
traik.  An  attempt  v.as  made  i<>  <Ii\er:  the  pu!>l;c  energy 
.in  1  a  itaiion  l:om  ihe  constitutional  movement  to  a 
p:ojMi  i!  ot  Kuioda,  Pre-,ide!it  ot  the  Coloni/atioti  Hoard, 
\'.!i:'h  t!ic  ,  ( c.  it  ntii'  -nt  undertaking-  in  Hokkaido, 
\',  h..  !i  hid  '  '  ;  ih'-  '  •  >unt  i  y  \  i  .) ,  o<  ><>,<  >< ><  >.  \\  on  ii  1  IK-  ^old 
•  •  ;he  |\ ','.  in  '•:  Hoei.i  .  i!r  >',.  .-,  a  i,  a  ])ii\afe  iniit'erii  o| 
Ku:od.r  ,  loi  \  ,  M^OMI;,  ill,-  Mini-,ti\  p'n,  and  ho, 

In    i  T   .1   1    ' 


POLITICS  83 

exposure  of  the  graft  scandal,  was  getting1  out  of  hand, 
stole  Okuma's  thunder  and  advised  the  Throne  to  call 
a  national  assembly,  hut  in  1890  instead  of  in  1883. 
Simultaneously  Okuina  was  kicked  out  of  office  so  that 
he  should  have  no  share  in  the  public  gratitude  for  the 
promise  of  a  Constitution. 

A    HOXK    WITHOUT    MAKKOW 

With  the  Imperial  Edict  of  October  12,  1881,  which 
commanded  a  national  assembly  to  be  summoned  in 
1890,  the  constitutionalists  considered  that  they  had 
gained  their  object.  The  great  work  of  the  government 
thereafter  was  to  prepare  for  the  innovation  by  drafting 
a  Constitution.  In  March,  1882,  Ito  was  sent  to  Europe 
to  study  the  various  political  institutions  of  the  West 
with  the  view  to  either  selecting  that  most  suitable  in 
its  entirety  or  of  drafting  a  Constitution  embodying  the 
most  suitable  features  of  the  Western  systems.  He 
returned  in  August,  1883,  so  that,  allowing  for  a  two- 
months  voyage  each  way,  just  twelve  months  was 
devoted  to  a  personal  examination  of  the  political  con- 
ditions in  England,  America,  France,  Belgium,  and 
Germany. 

A  couple  of  years  ago  a  very  prominent  lawyer  who 
has  held  high  office  in  America  was  banqueted  by  a 
barristers'  club  in  Tokyo,  and  presented  with  a  copy  in 
English  of  the  Constitution  with  Ito's  commentaries 
thereon.  A  day  or  two  afterwards  he  met  one  of  his 
hosts  and  said  to  him,  "  I  have  read  that  book  of  Ito's 
with  great  pleasure  and  greater  interest.  There's  one 
thing  I  want  you  to  enlighten  me  on,  for  as  a  good 
American  I'm  interested  in  it."  :'  Well,  I  will  explain 
anything  I  can,"  replied  the  Japanese  barrister.  "  What 
is  it?  "  "I  only  want  you  to  point  this  out  to  me — 
where  do  the  people  come  in  in  your  Constitution?  " 
"  All  !  "  and  the  Tokyo  lawyer  smiled,  "  that's  the  clever 
point  of  our  Constitution.  They  don't  come  in  at  all 
in  practice.  It's  what  you  call  '  a  bone  without 


84  JAPAN    AT    THK    CROSS    ROADS 

marrow.''  How  did  it  conic  about  that  Ito  was  able 
to  force  on  Japan  a  Constitution  which  more  than  any- 
thing else  erystalli/cd  the  power  in  the  hands  of  an 
oligarchy,  acting  in  the  name  of  the  Throne,  and  yet 
at  the  same  time  successfully  deluded  the  people  inU> 
the  belief  that  they  were  receiving  that  for  which  they 
had  asked? 

As  regards  the  latter  part  of  the  question,  a  great 
majority  of  the  people  were  apathetic,  unwilling  to  look 
a  gift  horse  in  the  mouth,  partly  because  the  Constitution 
was  an  Imperial  gitt,  partly  because  they  were  incom- 
petent to  critici/e  or  rcu<  tionary  against  the  extremes 
to  which  the  political  discussions  had  led.  Those  more 
actively  interested  and  capable  of  adequate  criticism 
had  been  banished  or  otherwise  gagged  into  silence. 

Ito  w.is  a  clansman,  one  of  the  Sat-cho  Coalition, 
and  it  was  to  them  that  he  owed  advancement.  The 
first  duty  of  every  Japanese  is  to  show  projx-r  grati- 
tude to  his  patron.  Although  Ito  was  beyond  jx-rsonal 
patronage  he  was  not  unmindful  of  the  rights  or,  rather, 
the  (  laims  of  the  two  clans,  and  he  was  therefore 
careful  not  to  damage  their  position  in  the  country. 
Secondly,  Ito  was  one  of  the  band  who  had  mack-  the 
Restoration  in  order  to  exercise  power  through  the 
Kmperor,  and  he  had  no  intention  of  setting  up,  or 
even  conniving  at  setting  up,  a  democracy  to  rule  the 
monarch. 

With  the  exception  of  these  two  ideas  pigeon-holed 
au.ty  Ito  had  an  open  mind  on  constitutional  system^. 
\sith  a  possible  sympathy  (before  his  travels)  for  the 
Kii.:!!-h  tuini,  which  was  then  very  popular  among -t 
the  \\DiiM-be  politicians  of  Japan.  Ih.s  visit  to  London 
\eiy  <-<><in  converted  hi^  sympathy  into  a  dislike,  for  a 

<  '<  dl-l  \\\l\  ion    ulieje   til1'    power    lay   entirely    \\itll    the    people 

\\,i>  ni  suitable  government  for  a  Sat-c  ho  adherent  to 
recommend.  hi  Berlin  he  found  something  extremely 
to  In-  liKiM;;  .iirl  .1  111.1:1  at  the  he.a<I  ol  it  after  whom 
n  bei  .tine  In  '  i -a i in  -t  de  nc  to  model  him -i  l! .  Hi  ,man  k 
h  t  1  i-\ol\cd  !"i  t!r  (i'-rman  1-jnjiire,  and  I'ru-sia  in 


POLITICS  85 

particular,  a  Constitution  admirably  suited  to  Ito's 
requirements,  and  reinforced  by  a  bureaucratic  adminis- 
tration and  a  graded  nobility  which,  if  they  could  be 
transferred  to  Japan,  would  tend  completely  to  keep  the 
people  in  what  the  clans  conceived  was  their  proper  place. 
The  Constitution  of  Japan  is  remarkable  for  two 
reasons.  In  the  first  place  it  was  a  gift  from  the 
Sovereign,  and  was  not  extorted  in  any  manner  by 
either  the  aristocracy  or  the  people.  Secondly,  it  was 
worked  out  in  the  completcst  secrecy,  and  even  within 
the  sacred  precincts  of  the  Imperial  Palace,  by  a  special 
bureau  attached  to  the  Imperial  Household,  consisting 
of  Ito,  Inouyc  Ki,  Kaneko,  and  Ito  Miyogi.  Ito  repre- 
sented the  clans,  and  to  a  certain  extent  the  Emperor  ; 
Inouye  represented,  or  was  supposed  to  represent, 
advanced  political  thought,  on  the  strength  of  his  having 
in  Kyushu  a  local  political  party  with  a  platform  opposed 
to  Itagaki  and  Okuma,  and  advocating  a  two-chamber 
system  subject  to  the  absolute  veto  of  the  Throne  ; 
Kaneko,  on  the  strength  of  a  Harvard  education,  repre- 
sented Western  thought  ;  whilst  Ito  Miyogi  was  the 
nominee  of  officialdom  pure  and  simple.  The  draft  of 
the  Constitution  was  subject  to  revision  by  the  Privy 
Council  of  which  Ito  was  the  President.  Amongst 
the  list  of  members  there  was  not  one  name  representa- 
tive of  the  popular  movement  in  Japan.  The  whole 
object,  as  Kaneko  has  left  on  record,  was  to  prevent 
any  popular  interference  in  the  work  or  any  influence 
from  public  opinion.  The  Constitution,  as  a  result  of 
its  drafting  by  these  carefully  selected  committees,  com- 
posed entirely  of  reactionary  clansmen,  aristocrats,  and 
officials,  far  from  being  an  instrument  of  freedom  and 
progress,  emerged  as  a  document  cloaking  under  fine 
language  and  empty  phrases  the  traditional  policies  of 
the  Shogunate  and  the  oligarchy  which  rules  in  its 
place.  The  representative  institutions  provided  for  in 
the  Constitution  are  absolutely  bogus  in  practice.  The 
power  allotted  to  the  people  is  nil,  and  the  possibilities 
of  the  people  legally  developing  power  without  amend- 


86  JAPAN    AT    THK    CROSS    ROADS 

ing  the  Constitution  are  also  nil.  The  only  |x>sitive 
eflect  of  the  Constitution  is  to  confirm  in  words  as  the. 
written  law  of  the  land  the  traditional  sovereign  power 
of  the  Throne,  the  idea  of  which  is  inherent  in  every 
Japane-e  mind.  The  absolutism  of  the  monarch,  which 
until  i.SXg  had  been  traditional,  became  perpetuated  as 
the  fundamental  principle  of  the  new  order  of  things. 
1  have  m>  intention  here  of  examining  in  detail  this 
extraordinary  document,  which  riveted  the  bonds  ol 
clanni-m  on  the  nation,  but  it  is  in  itself  so  indetinite, 
so  contradictory,  and  so  illogical  that  its  drastic  reno- 
\ation  is  considered  in  Japan  as  the  only  jx>ssible  cure. 
A  Japanese  jurist,  Dr.  Shimi/u,  has  recently  computed 
that  then-  are  forty-eight  major  faults  in  the  Constitu- 
tion, by  major  faults  being  understood  articles  con-' 
tradiited  by  other  article-,  arti<Ies  direct!)  conflicting 
\\iih  other  articles,  articles  capable  of  dual  interpreta- 
tion, and  articles  capable  ol  no  exact  interpretation 
at  all. 

i!  the  powers  of  the  Throne  and  the  Diet  are  com- 
pared it  will  be  -'-en  that  the  Throne  is  the  head  of 
the  exeiutive  and  the  legislative,  and  possesses  an  abso- 
lute veto  ;  ha-  power  to  legislate  without  the  Diet  and 
complete  and  ab-olute  control  over  all  civil  and  military 
otniia!'.  of  the  army  and  navy,  and  of  foreign  aliaiis 
11  patronage.  (  The  onlv  jx»wer  subtracted  from 
•rial  authority  i>  the  sii-,p<-i)sion  or  amendment 
\\lr.ch  can,  however,  be  accomplished  by  the 
•t -.  invested  in  the  1'nvy  Council  or  by  proclaiming 
ite  i  >  |  siege.) 

;n     Diet   has  the  right  to  meet   one  e  a   \ear   for  ninety 
,   and    to    initiate    (~u!)je<  »    to   veto  or   non  -pi  oinulga  - 
i-lation.   and   to   pe'ition   the  Throne.      In   theory 
ontrol   th-  na'ioria!   hnaiii  es,  m   piacp.ce 

•Xp'lldllUles      i>.l,ed      Upon     the      so\rp-|gn 

1  hi  i  >ne      i  ,is    administ  i  at  ive,     na\  a  1     and 

I  1.  !!  <  Mlii  e  expense-,  i,  all  e\|  »en  ^  U  hit  || 
'  !!'  '  of  |.C.\  ..  ,i!ld  .ill  expense,  ap|iejtalll- 
i!  o'  ill  a!  p  MI  -  of  tir-  yo\  i-i  nnieii!  i  iliteie  I 


TOLITICS  87 

on  National  Debt,  sinking  fund,  redemption  of  bonds, 
subsidies,  compensation,  etc.)  being  excluded  from  reduc- 
tion or  rejection  except  with  the  consent  of  the  govern- 
ment. In  case  even  these  exemptions  should  put  too 
much  j)ower  in  the  hands  of  the  Diet,  the  Throne  may 
take  all  necessary  financial  measures  in  cases  of  urgency, 
as  when  the  Diet  cannot  be  convoked,  by  me.uis  of 
Imperial  Ordinances.  When  the  Diet  does  not  vote  on 
the  Budget  an  Imperial  Ordinance  authorizes  the  Budget 
of  the  previous  year. 

This  brief  summary  shows  in  concise  form  how  Ito 
so  arranged  the  Constitution  as  to  give  the  Throne  all 
of  the  power  and  the  people  none. 

As  a  writer  in  the  Taivo  put  it  :  '  The  principal  duty 
of  the  Japanese  people  under  the  Constitution  is  to 
elect  representatives  to  say  'Yes'  to  the  government." 

In  case  the  House  of  Representatives  should  find 
some  loophole  by  which  it  might  be  able  to  dictate 
an  undesirable  measure  to  tin;  authorities,  Ito  added  a 
second  chamber,  the  House  of  Peers,  'to  check  tin- 
evil  tendencies  of  irresponsible  discu>sions  '  in  the  Lower 
House,  or,  in  plain  English,  to  act  as  a  first  crusher  in 
any  conflict  between  the  authorities  and  the  representa- 
tives without  the  former  having  to  use  the  Imperial  veto 
or  other  measure  of  direct  repression.  The  comjx>si- 
tion  of  the  I'pper  House  as  Ito  planned  it  was  admirably 
adapted  to  his  purpose.  There  were  201  hereditary 
and  representative  Peers,  all  owing  their  rank  to  him- 
self and  conservative  by  the  nature  of  things  ;  122 
Imperial  nominees,  40  of  whom  are  peers,  all  officials 
and  ex -officials,  and  therefore  allies  of  bureaucracy  ; 
and  45  representatives  of  the  highest  taxpayers,  coiiserva 
live  by  their  alliance  with  land  and  vested  interest-. 

Such  was  the  Constitution  Ito  practically  borrowed 
wholesale  from  Prussia  and  gave  to  Jap, in,  reinforcing 
it-;  conservatism  by  a  Cabinet  sy.Mem  as  tha*  of  Pru-i.i. 
a  Privy  Council  \\ith  extraordinarily  \\ule  powers  and 
a  graded  nobility,  under  the  control  of  a  Bureau  of  ihe 
Imperial  1  lousehold. 


88  JAPAN    AT    THK    CROSS    ROADS 

THK  M  AT  K  i. MM  MAI.  MACHINK 

In  igii  the  principal  parties  in  Japan  were  the 
Seiyukwai  and  the  Nationalists.  The  former  held  an 
absolute  majority  in  the  Lower  1  louse,  and  consequently 
ruled  the  |X)litical  field,  a  po-ition  of  which  they  took 
\er\  full  advantage. 

The  Seiyukwai  was  a  party  romjxised  of,  and  drawn 
from,  a  number  of  smaller  parties,  the  principles  and 
programmes  of  which  it  is  almost  imjx>ssible  to  dif- 
ferentiate. (Hit  of  the  years  of  intrigue  and  turmoil 
which  had  preceded  and  followed  the  promulgation  of 
the  Constitution  two  chief  parties  had  emerged,  led 
respectively  by  ha^aki  and  (  )kuma.  In  the  main  their 
platforms  were  similar,  but  <  )kuma  jibbed  consistently 
at  the  theory  of  Ministerial  independence  of  the  Diet. 
Neither  of  these  parties,  nor,  for  that  matter,  any  other 
party,  retained  its  title  for  much  more  than  a  session  at 
a  time,  and  the  fivquent  changes  of  name  are  conse- 
quently an  irritating  source  of  contusion  to  the  student. 
The  party  led  by  Ita^aki  may  be  described  as  Liberal, 
whi!>t  that  <>f  Okunia  was  Progressive.  In  iS<>>  ho 
abandoned,  as  the  result  of  experience,  the  theory  that 
a  Ministry  can  carry  on  business  in  the  Diet  without 
soni'-  party  support,  and  mad'-  an  alliance  with  the 
Liberal>,  and  was  timber  supjjorted  by  small  official 
.ni',1  semi-official  cliques.  In  spite  of  this  the  Privy 
'  nuiii  il  would  not  allow  either  ho  or  any  member  of  Ins 
Mini-try  to  be  a  memb'-r  of  a  politic.il  party,  and  when 
h.i:;aki  uas  bpiu  'lit  1:1  .is  Minister  <>)  the  Interior  he 
lit<l  to  -ever  his  oiiii  i.il  <  omi'-ction  \\iih  the  l.ibeial  • 
lin-  MIIU  tr\  le'l  (iv.  in.;  to  the  l.ulure  to  find  a  Forei.;n 

Mini-te!,  the  l.l'ier.il  e\-le.l<!er  refusing  t<>  Ml  i;j  .1 
'  .tiilMc1  Ui:!l  t!te  1'pi.  lr  Ke  le.i.ler.  <>kuill.l,  ull'i  \\.l^ 

•ii"   n:il\    III    r  ii.  m         1  lie   M  .i'  -ukata-  <  'km  1 1.1   Cabinet    \\hiih 

t'i'1'.'.M-d  i  ulit  lulled  OH'"  ses  lull  of  the  Diet  b\  llie.l'ls 
••I  .1  M  M  |i  M  !'  \  i  '  )t'l|  I' I  i-il  ii|  the  Progressives  With  the 
ii!ln  l.d  .il.d  r'tii;  -nIlK  l.d  pendulum.  U  111  !l  H 

1  N  ,  t  • ,    I    1 1 1 .      •  1 1  \ .  r  n  1 1 1  e  1 1 1 


POLITICS  89 

months  on  the  old  question  of  Ministerial  responsibility. 
Its  existence  at  all  was  a  marvel  of  ingenuity,  for 
Matsukata  was  a  typical  clansman,  and  Okuma's  views 
on  the  subject  of  Ministerial  independence  had  not 
changed.  A  second  Ito  Ministry  was  a  fiasco,  and, 
after  a  coalition  of  Liberals  and  Progressives,  was 
followed  by  an  Okuma-Itagaki  Ministry,  which  fell  after 
a  few  months  as  the  result  of  a  quarrel  between  the 
parties  over  the  distribution  of  the  spoils  of  office. 
Yamagata,  the  leading  clan  statesman,  succeeded  to  the 
Premiership,  and  was  forced  by  circumstances  to  make 
a  temporary  alliance  with  the  Liberals  to  obtain  an 
urgently  necessary  increase  of  revenue.  Though  ready 
enough  with  cash  bribes,  he  refused  to  give  party  men 
offices,  and  in  September,  1900,  he  resigned,  as  a  result 
of  the  formation  of  the  Seiyukwai  under  the  leadership 
of  Ito.  This  statesman,  a  bureaucrat  at  heart  and  a 
firm  believer  in  the  bureaucratic  system  of  government, 
realized  its  impossibility  unless  there  was  a  strong  party 
subservient  to  officialdom  in  the  House.  He  recognized 
that  the  Liberals  were  willing  to  accept  any  arrange- 
ment which  would  provide  them  with  an  adequate 
solatium  for  the  abjuration  of  their  principles.  Unlike 
the  Progressives,  they  had  never  opposed  the  govern- 
ment on  purely  political  grounds.  They  wanted  an 
entente  with  some  leading  statesman  for  material  pur- 
poses. Ito  wanted  a  party  behind  him  to  which  he 
could  dictate  orders  and  on  whose  implicit  obedience 
he  could  rely.  That  was  the  bargain  struck.  Ito 
and  Yamagata  were  lighting  for  power,  and  the  former 
hoped  that  by  controlling  the  Diet  he  would  achieve  it. 
He  was  mistaken.  He  had  little  trouble  in  the  Lower 
House,  but  the  Peers  were  staunch  supporters  of  the 
clans,  and  their  opposition  was  only  overcome  by  the 
use  of  the  Imperial  Rescript.  He  fell  in  April,  1901, 
and  never  again  exercised  any  real  power,  though  his 
advice  as  a  (ienro  was  frequently  sought,  and  almost 
as  frequently  ignored,  and  he  continued  to  wield 
considerable  personal  influence  over  the  Kmperor. 


<X>  JAPAN    AT    TIIK    CROSS    ROADS 

The    ap[x>intment    of    Viscount     Katsura    as     Premier 

marked  t\vn  important  <  han^e^.  The  Klder  Statesmen 
retired  tr<ii!i  the  public  arena,  and  henceforth  officiated 
a^  wire-pu'ler-  behind  the  scenes.  Through  tin*  Privy 
("ou.'nil  they  exercised  all  the  necessary  authority  to 
hold  r.ji  measures  of  which  they  disapproved,  and  as 
<  ieiiro-m  and  patron-,  of  the  younger  men  they  were 
able  to  inflaeiv  e  the  actions  of  the  ^overnment  in  an\ 
direction  desired.  Secondly,  it  became  an  acknowledged 
tai  t  that  an  alliance  mu^t  exist  between  a  leading 
|N)liti<  a!  part)  arid  the  government  if  the  Slate  bu-ine- 
u.i-.  to  be  <  arried  on  e\  en  ijuasi-constitutionally. 

A-  K.it-ma  was  the  nominee  of  Yama^ala.  ho  did 
everything  in  hi-,  power  to  embarrass  his  politic--,  even 
to  the  cxtejit  of  ne  M)tiatin^r  an  alliance  of  Liberal^  and 
Prov,re->ives.  lie  failed  mi>eral)ly,  ho\\c\cr,  bei-au->e 
Kai-ura  me:  ;he  attack  by  the  simple  expedient  ot 

dl--o!\  m;_;      the      l)let,     a      measure     \\IIK  I)      1^      a      1 'l  elilier's 

1 1  ump  (  a  rd  in  a  <"iin;rv  like  Japan  where  the  Ministry 
i-  not  M--J 'oii-i'il'-  !•>  the  majority  ol  the  llonsc.  To 
prevent  Inriher  nn-<  hiet  from  ho  he  was  made  President 
ot  tin-  PM\  y  ('o'ancil,  and  .Mari|iii>  Saionji  led  that  jiosj 

!o    !>C<  ome     the     lead'T    ot     the    Seiyilkwai. 

At  '.he  time  ot  th"  re'.o'u'ion  m  Portugal  Hr.  I1'..  |. 
hill  in  -e!i;  an  i'luminatnix  ine-->a^r<-  to  the  Ddi'y  /V'r- 

ry (//.//  -!io\'.:!:;:  ho\\  tin-  _ej)vermnent  m  \}\{\  (oimtry  v. .1^ 
.  ondi;  ted.  '1  he  (  'aliinei  .Mi!M  !<  i-  and  the  1  >nv.  tor-- 
«\  .1  N.;">nal  I'.ank  uere  the  e.xchan^eabh-  la<ioi->. 
\\li-n  e  LI  ii  <  'il'iiie!  !,a  !  mi-;ro\  ;;ied  li.ii;^  t::oi;^h  the 
I 'i;i  lor-  be- anr  .M.n  ,ei".  a; id  th-  Mi:.  1-0-1  I)iiet!oi^. 
'ih<-  (  li.i.'i;,'--  U"ie  alv.a1.  -,  ni!i:;  on  id--  same  loinbinatlon, 
\\hil-;  a  i:..;'o:i;-.  ul  the  Parliament,  subservient  to  aii\' 
m:::i  trv  v.  hi  h  <  •''.:!  1  ia'  e  moiie;  ei.DiiiJi  !o  j  a\  t:,' 
bl.n  ;.;:ia:l  dema:.«!'-d,  ji;o\id<-d  a  \o;in.;  ina)orit>  A 
filial  '  '"n  p:  e1.  all"  !  m  |apan  I  roin  I  ';o  ;  i , ,  i  > ,  \  ; 


POLITICS  9' 

out  of  office,  through  Marquis  Saionji.  When  Katsura's 
autocracy  and  financial  recklessness  reached  a  point 
which  might  well  be  described  as  the  limit,  the  Cabinet 
resigned,  and  Marquis  Saionji  was  sent  in  a^  a  scullery- 
maid  to  clean  up.  When  the  public  susceptibilities  had 
been  sufficiently  smoothed  down,  bark  went  Katsura  into 
office.  This  method  of  affairs  might  have  continued 
long  after  191.5  but  for  a  quarrel  between  Katsura  and 
Yamagata,  a  split  in  the  Choshu  ranks  which  was  taken 
advantage  of  by  the  Satsuma  statesmen  to  assert  to 
themselves  a  predominant  position,  which,  however,  they 
were  unable  to  retain  for  more  than  a  year. 

The  Cienro  Council  has  no  place  in  the:  Constitution 
at  all,  but  it  has  been  all-powerful  in  Japan  from  iSXi 
until  now.  It  is  an  informal  assembly  of  tho-e  elders 
of  the  State  who  have  acquired  particular  merit  in  the 
series  of  historic"  occurrences  which  have  raided  Japan 
to  her  present  position.  Needless  to  say  it  is  composed 
of  clansmen  from  Satsuma  and  Choshu,  whose  influence 
pervades  Japanese  affairs  through  every  stage  of  life. 
They  have  their  nominee's  in  every  public  department, 
and  each  has  created  around  him  a  network  of  instru- 
ments by  clan  relations,  by  marriage  or  by  patronage. 
Though  feudalism  is  abolished,  the  feudal  system  remains 
practically  intact,  and  it  will  be  many  decades  before 
it  is  thoroughly  uprooted  from  Japanese  soil  and  politics. 

The  principal  Cenro  arc-  Field-Marshals  Princes 
Vamagata  and  (Jyama,  Marquis  Matsukata,  Marquis 
Inouye,  and  Admirals  Counts  Kabayama  and  Vama- 
moto.1  Count  Okuma  and  Marquis  Saionji  have  by 
their  services  and  rank  attained  the  position  of  Genro, 
but  for  obvious  reasons  have  never  been  invited  to 
take  part  in  their  discussions.  Both  are  constitutional 
statesmen  who  are  hatelul  to  the  clansmen,  whose  prin- 
cipal aim  has  been  to  repress  every  form  ot  go\  eminent 
which  might  be'  considered  as  a  roneessiem  to  the  popular 
will.  Count  Kabayama  never  now,  and  Prince1  Oyama 
but  rare1!}',  join  the  coiiteTe-nce-s,  the  former  having  retired 

'   Yumamoto  is  lU'iKT.iIlv  onlv  Mminv  >nnl  i..  discus  n  iv.tl  ,iti:iii>. 


92  JAPAN    AT    THK    CROSS    ROADS 

from  public  life  after  the  Chinese  War,  whilst  the  latter 
hold-  aloof  from  all  political  di-cussions  on  account  of 
hi-  Sat-uma  birth  clashing  with  his  Choshu  professional 
sympathies. 

The  (ienro  who  count  in  active  jx)litics  are  there- 
fore Yamagata,  Inouye,  Mat-ukata.1  During  his  life- 
time Prince  ho  wa-  a  regular  member  of  the  council, 
whil-t  the  late  Prince  Kat.-ura  was  from  time  to 
time  tailed  to  the  board.  These  men  are  the  real 
ruler-  of  Japan,  and  have  by  the  merit  of  their  services, 
!>;.  the  loyalty  of  their  clan-men,  and  by  nepotism  secured 
the  practical  control  of  Japanese  administration  and 
education.  This  latter  i-  extremely  important,  becau-e 
it  mean-  that  the  ideals  and  object-  of  the  Klder  State, 
men  are  -pread  through  the  universities  and  schools, 
ami  thu-  become,  the  ideals  and  aims  of  the  nation. 
The  object  which  the  (Ian-men  have  had  in  view  has 
been  to  make  the  educational  institutions  of  the  country 
training  -chools  for  the  bureaucracy. 

It  is  easily  understandable  that  in  a  country  emerging 
from  many  centuries  of  feudal  rule,  feudalism,  though 
legally  abolished,  cannot  be  immediately  eradicated.  The 
instincts  of  the  clans  remain  unimpaired,  and  Satsuma 
men  to-day  look  to  the  lord-  of  Sat-uma  for  protection 
and  -acnlice  themselves  for  their  lord's  protection  a- 
in  day-  gone  by.  To  this  form  of  feudali-m  ha-  been 
added  another  and  a  ni"iv  modern  Co  mi.  The  marriage 
mart  i,  an  nn|>onant  consideration  n  fapane-e  politics. 

I  he  \.ui'>u,  <  ie-iro  could  ne\er  have  obtained  the  hold 
the1,  have  on  the  administration  except  by  the  alliances 
v.  hi'  h  they  have  been  able  to  form.  In  a  (ouniiy 
v.  here  polygamy  ha>  only  Pe-ntly  been  abolished,  and 

v.h'ie    « on' ubinage     i-    SM  I    not     unknown,    matrimonial 
I'iriii    a    -tio'i'.1    nefuoik    ill    del  elite.       No    -laden' 


POLITICS  <)$ 

sion  of  public  opinion,  consistent  and  determined  oppo- 
sition to  popular  representation,  the  development  to  the 
uttermost  limit  of  bureaucratic  government,  and  control 
by  the  military  party  of  the  colonies.  He  has,  to  obtain 
his  ends,  backed  the  Choshu  influence  by  a  family  clique 
devoted  to  the  furtherance  of  his  aims.  Baron  Hirata, 
Doctor  Baron  Kato,  Mr.  Vasuhiro,  Baron  Hamao, 
Viscount  Shinagawa,  Baron  Funakoshi,  Mr.  Kingoro 
Kawamura,  and  the  late  Mr.  Hagiwara,  all  relations 
of  Vamagata,  formed  the  nucleus  of  this  clique.  Baron 
Hirata,  described  by  Japane.se  writers  as  having  the 
demeanour  of  a  village  pedagogue,  is  a  son-in-law  of 
the  Viscountess  Shinagawa,  a  niece  of  Prince  Vamagata. 
He  was  the  Home  Minister  who,  when  it  was  necessary 
to  throw  open  the  Civil  Service  to  the  people,  drafted 
the  regulations  which,  in  fact,  kept  it  a  close  corpora- 
tion. Isaburo  Vamagata,  the  adopted  son  and  heir  of 
the  Prince,  is  Vice-Govcrnor-General  of  Korea  and  son- 
in-law  of  Baron  Hiroyuki  Kato.  Baron  Kato  was  for 
years  President  of  the  Imperial  University,  where  he 
inculcated  into  students  and  staff  the  principles  con- 
tained in  his  apologia  for  the  Senate,1  written  when  an 
official  of  the  Imperial  Household.  Baron  Kato,  as 
the  Cienro  of  education,  disposes  of  an  immense  amount 
of  patronage  in  the  universities  and  schools.  In  addi- 
tion his  sons  hold  influential  positions — Terumaro  is 
Physician  to  the  Emperor,  Haruhiko  is  a  Manager  of 
the  Bank  ot  Japan,  Toshio  was  a  Commissioner  of 
Prefectural  Government.  His  five  •sons-in-law  are  well 
up  in  the  world — one  is  Prince  Vamagata's  heir,  another 
Councillor  of  the  Home  Department,  the  third  a  Chief 
Engineer  of  the  Railway  Board,  the  fourth  head  of  the 
Kyushu  University,  and  the  fifth  professor  at  the  Tokyo 
University. 

Mr.  Vasuhiro  Ban-ichiro,  before  he  married  a  niece 
of  Prince  Vamagata,  was  a  teacher  of  English  in  a 
high  school.  He  rose  quickly  on  the  wings  of  Hymen, 
becoming  a  Secretary  to  the  Cabinet,  then  Councillor 

1  V.  p.  7.). 


•>4  JAPAN    AT    Till-.    CROSS    ROADS 

of  the  I. c.;!-!. itl\r  Buivan,  President  of  the  Bureau  for 
(  omnion  S<  ho«»N,  Chief  Secretary  in  the  Cabinet,  in 
i|m>  k  -turi-»i'»n  until,  ten  years  after  hi>  marriage,  he 
ua-  nominated  .1  Member  «ii  the  House  of  Peers,  a 
dignity  winch  uas  doubled  dunni;'  the-  next  ten  vear>. 
with  the  \  i<  e-Mini-tership  of  A^ruultuie  and  Commen  e. 
The  late  Mr.  Ha^iuara  \\a^  a  nephew  ot  the  Prince, 
.ml  held  -cveral  important  posts,  until  at  his  death  he 
\\.i-  I)i;ect'»r  D|  ( 'i  >inmerrial  AlVair.s  at  tlie  I-'oreii^n  (  Mtiee. 
Ill-  \\iie  was  the  daughter  ot  Mr.  ilainao,  a  Councillor 
in  the  I-'.di;eation  Department.  The  alliance  \va>  <  <>n- 
tra'li-d  in  lN>l.  and  thereafter  Mr.  Jiamao  he<  aine 
\  i- e-I're- id'-nt  <>f  Tuk\o  l'n;\ii^:t\.  Director  of  the 
Special  Mincau  tor  I\< -form  ol  Education,  Member  of  the 
llou-e  of  Pe^rs,  Minister  o{  Milucation,  Baron,  and 
.i..;ai;i  Pre-ident  of  Tokyo  \ ' \\i\- <  r>ity  after  the  strike  ol 
ill-  prolV->or!al  >'a!l". 

liaion  r  un  iko-Sii  \\.i^  mixed  up  in  a  .^raft  .scandal 
d'inii.;  the  e.'fly  \ear-.  ot  Meiji.  and  Vaiuai^ata,  who  was 
Mini-ter  of  Mi.i;.iry  Aliair-,  pioieetrd  hiai.  I-'unako-hi'^ 
-•'D  i >  in  dried  To  a  dau.Jit'T  ot  Yama^ata,  and  !•  una- 
k«i  hi  -enior  decorat ••-  ;he  Pri\\  ('otincil.  whilst  hi-  Mm'.*, 
i  a  ret-i  i;i  i  IK  \  • .; ,  [•  •  n  (  Mli  e  ha-  bee;;  a  !r<  a<  ly  i  ,il'\  ed  « .ut  . 
\i  iniini  Shi:'a;_.a\sa  '\'aji:ni  \\a-  th'-  Mini-ter  of 
Ili'iue  Alla;r  :n  the  Ma!-':ka!a  Cabinet  ot  jSi^j.  \\ho 
\\  a  •  tori  ed  to  it-i.;!  tor  in!'  !  ti  ii:i;;  with  the  freedom 
o|  (!••  !]'i:i  and  p'o\nki;i;;  no's  in  \\hl-h  J5  Jiel'sons 
U'-;e  k'M'd  and  ;  .'->  •>  \\ounde<l,  lie  inairied  Slnd/uko, 
aiio;he!  n!i  ••!  S'ama^ata,  .ind  ln>  son  ha>  married  into 
'die  M  i T  a  d .  i  i  i  a  !  a  i  n  i !  y  . 

A    rt^liillt    •  'I    thi-   ^anla;.'.ata   ci  ililiecrions   •-hou  •>    that    hi'-. 

itili'ien.  i     i      paiti   ii'arly    stron..;    in    th'-    ann\,    \\hi«h    r>, 

.•t    «  OM:  -e,    tin-    (    hovhti    pla  \ ;.;  loiuid,    in    th'-    loluine^.    aUo 

,i    I:H  -nopi.lv    t-  .1     tliai    •  I  m.    in    the    1  b  une    (  ):;,-  e    and    in 

i-d  :•.!':•  -nal     <!!•!••.        In     I  \\<      I  'i  u  y     (  <  itim  il.    ot     \s  hii  li 

i       P;e   i  !•  V .     in     I'll  ,    h"    dip  i  tl\     <  out  lo'l'  d.    «-!tln  r 

-  1  in    i  -i     Ian ;ib.     iiii;  ,-  •.'  '-,    i  lev  i •: i    mi:     ot     tu  etit  \  -^ix 

•  • .  •  i :  d   '  •  • :  a  i ;  i ! .    i  1 1  n  n !    o ;  i    t!i'-      ;  1 1 1  p.  1 1 1    1 1 1 

-.1     'ii--  i<  m.ii.M:!       .",'oiip   .     Ka!  -ma,     Sat-uina. 

•i..      !i:  i..  n  d     Hoi:   .  h..ld. 


I'OUTKS  <)$ 

lii  the  (icmo  meeting--  Iiiouyr  and  Iio  generally  held 
together,  lor  they  were  closely  related  by  family  ties 
and  clan  sympathy,  but  also  l>y  a  bosom  friendship 
dating  from  the  days  when  they  se<  retly  visited  Mngland. 
1  hey  both  coquetted  with  representative  government, 
and  thereby  incurred  Yamagata's  wrath.  Jto  did  so 
because  he  recognixed  that  rcj)resentative  government 
must  eventually  arrive,  and  it  was  better  to  control  it 
than  to  be  controlled  by  it.  Inouye  was  a  man  of  very 
different  calibre,  and  more  content  to  hide  his  light  under 
a  bushel  ;  he  preferred  whenever  possible  to  be  the 
power  behind  the  s/ioji.  Much  surprise  has  been 
expressed  that  he  never  held  the  post  of  Premier, 
but  there  never  arose  any  reason  for  him  to  do  so.  As 
the  C'hoshu  Premier  of  autocracy  Yamagata  was  always 
there  :  as  the  C'hoshu  'Premier  of  a  mitigated  form  of 
popular  government  I  to  was  sufficient.  The  split  between 
Yamagata  and  Ito,  originating  in  the  Jailer's  conces- 
sions to  democracy,  was  widened  by  Inouye's  close 
alliance  with  Ito.  Yamagata  was  successful  in  securing 
Ito's  (all,  but  it  in  no  way  improved  his  own  position, 
for  Katsura,  his  trusted  henchman,  was  matrimonially 
allied  to  Inouye,  and  in  1912  fell  a  victim  to  Inouye's 
persuasion  and  became  an  adherent  of  party  govern- 
ment. It  is  remarkable  evidence  of  Yamagata's  con- 
servatism that  in  his  matrimonial  ventures  he  never 
made,  or  attempted  to  make,  an  alliance  with  a  leader 
of  any  political  party  whatsoever.  That  Viscount  Shina- 
gawa  became  the  leader  of  the  Kokumin  Kiokwai  was 
an  accident,  resulting  from  the  incidents  of  1892  referred 
to  earlier,  and  his  party  consisted  solely  of  out-and-out 
adherents  of  bureaucracy. 

TIIK    I.  ATM    MAROTIS    IXOl'YK 

IJorn    in     i-Sjo     in     Xagato    Pro\-ince,    second    son    of 
Inouye   Mitsustike,   a   ^(iniunt!   of   Chos'ui    lnoa\'e    Kaora  ' 


'  Inotivc,  like  Ito  :uul  .KV.>:V.iii!4  !•> 
first  luinic,  aiul  ;U  v.utir.i.,  periods  ot 
Montu,  and  Kaoru. 


•/>  JAPAN    AT    TIIK    CROSS    ROADS 

was  from  early  days  a  lx>som  friend  of  the  Kite  Prince 
Ito  Hirobunn.  Together  they  attended  the  school  of 
Yo-hida  iTorajiroi  Shoin,  the  leading  advocate  of 
Imperialism  in  the  Choshu  clan,  and  later  they  were  sent 
by  their  feudal  lord  to  Nagasaki  to  study  military  arts 
under  the  Dutch  officers  attached  to  the  factory  on 
Deshima  Island.  After  the  execution  of  Yoshida  Shoin 
at  Yedo,  on  account  of  his  anti-Tokugawa  actions  Inouye, 
Ito,  and  Yamagata  Aritomo  were  attached  to  the  suite 
ot  Kido  Koin,  tin-  Choshu  representative  at  the  Shogun's 
court.  I'nder  such  auspices  the  young  men  were  bound 
to  be  severely  anti-foreign,  and  they  were  leaders  ot 
the  malcontent  band  which  burned  down  the  British 
Legation  at  Shinagawa.  After  this  futile  outburst  the 
passions  of  the  young  patriots  cooled  down,  and  they 
began  to  examine  foreign  affairs  with  a  less  prejudiced 
mind.  Ito  gave-  himself  up  to  the  study  of  English, 
\\lnl-t  Inouye  attended  th"  lectures  of  Sakuma  Shozan 
on  the  necessities  of  naval  expansion.1  Finding  it  impos- 
sible to  make  any  headway  in  the-  seclusion  imposed 
upon  Japan  by  the  Tokugawa  laws,  the  latter  determined 
to  proceed  secretly  to  Kurope  to  study  the  foreign  systems 
<>l  government,  and  having  obtained  the  private  but  un- 
ottii  lal  (oii-ent  of  Prince  Mori,  head  of  the  Choshu  clan, 
persuaded  Ito  and  three  other  young  men  to  accompany 
him. 

To  decide  on  the  lourney  and  to  carry  out  the  decision 
\\I-H-  two  very  different  matters,  and  the  adventurers  had 
.1  number  ot  dii!i<  ult  n-,  to  surmount  before  they  weir 
-.if-  K  on  board  -hip.  Ito  h.i-  left  the  following  interest- 
ing narrative  ot  tht-  event  : 

K:io\un;j  th.i!  t!ir  only  w.iv  t->  -ciiilr  th'-  p.i--- .i^e  u.i-  t"  .ippr.ll 
dlKLtlvt'i  fo[  I-IJ.MK-I  -.,  UC  (lid  ii.  \Ve  oil^lil  .1  i  <  I  l.llll  Ml  .  (  i.  >U'  I  of 

.in   I1. :i;',h   h  Ii:  ::i,  Me    -i  -.  <  i!'  \ i  I   and  Co..  who  --pi  >l.r  j.ij  .me  e  \\eil,  .11  id 

'  S.tkiiiii.i  .il\:  >d  I:.-  r.vct  <  -^  >  .1!  >i  <  >.id  .ind  -T  tin-  h.it'd  f  •  .1  ,  i^r-.rr 
for  him  ell.  !!•  id  ;;-v  ii  ir.ii!  11  .idvn  •  (.,  Vo.lni.i  u  !:M  h.id  l-rcn 
.IMC  ted  u!.:l  I  'r'.ii.;1  t"  ;;•  l  .»!"•. nd  one  of  tin-  -i.ip>  of  iVriv'-^ 
.  iij.i  '.'.•''.},  \!.  .1  •  i  x;  •  i  ,i  d  in  .1  i  .r.'f  1  ••,  tiic  i  o.ul  id  i  .ind  l.iti  i  <lci.  .ipit.iti  d. 


POLITICS  97 

we  were  fortunate  enough  to  he  successful.  The  five  thousand 
Japanese  dollars  we  had  had  been  exchanged  for  eight  thousand 
American  dollars.  We  carried  this  in  a  draft,  leaving  only  a  small 
amount  in  cash  for  our  incidental  expenses  during  the  voyage.  Thus, 
after  everything  had  been  arranged,  we  went  to  Kanagawa  and  slipped 
into  a  tea-house  called  Shimodaya,  which  was  well  patronized  by 
the  clansmen  of  Choshu,  and  there  we  disguised  ourselves  as 
merchants. 

After  entrusting  our  swords  to  the  keeper  of  the  tea-house,  we  went 
secretly  to  Yokohama,  where  we  secured  a  lodging  and  made  our 
preparations  for  the  trip.  We  went  to  a  European  store,  which  was 
only  a  little  junk  shop,  and  tried  to  buy  shirts  and  suits,  but  in  those 
days  there  was  nothing  decent  to  be  had,  and  we  were  compelled  to 
buy  all  second-hand  tilings  which  had  been  worn  by  sailors.  The 
shoes  we  bought  were  each  big  enough  to  hold  two  feet  !  Imagine 
how  funny  we  must  have  looked  in  this  attire,  with  our  Chonmagc 
(top-knot)  still  on.  On  the  night  of  May  nth  we  were  summoned  to 
the  English  firm  and  were  told  to  wait  until  the  captain  had  finished 
dinner.  So  we  complied  with  our  instructions,  and  I  remember  we 
hid  in  a  corner  of  the  hill  which  runs  beside  the  embankment  behind 
the  Company's  offices.  Whilst  thus  waiting  each  of  us  went  off  in 
turn  and  had  our  hair  cut.  This  made  us  look  all  the  worse  and 
funnier.  About  midnight  Mr.  Gower  came  and  told  us  that,  after 
consultation  with  the  captain,  that  person  declined  to  give  us  passage. 
as  it  was  against  the  laws  for  Japanese  to  leave  Japan.  We  appealed 
to  him  very  earnestly,  and  finally  told  him  that  after  thus  cutting  our 
hair  we  would  be  arrested  and  executed  by  the  government,  and  we 
showed  our  determination  to  commit  hari-kiri  on  the  spot  rather 
than  be  disgraced  and  beheaded  by  the  officials.  At  this  determined 
appeal  Mr.  Gower  became  alarmed  and  made  another  attempt  to 
induce  the  captain  to  give  us  passage.  The  captain  finally  agreed 
to  do  so. 

At  about  two  o'clock  in  the  morning  of  May  i2th,  when  everything 
was  quiet,  the  captain  and  Mr.  Gower  led  us  toward  the  wharf.  Mr. 
Gower  was  trembling  for  fear  of  discovery  by  the  Japanese  customs 
officials  whose  office  we  had  to  pass  by,  but  he  instructed  us  to  respond 
loudly  in  some  jargon  whenever  he  spoke  to  us,  so  as  to  pass  ourselve> 
off  as  foreigners.  We  followed  his  instructions,  and  finally  reached  a 
boat  at  the  end  of  the  wharf  which  took  us  to  the  steamer. 

This  however  was  not  all  we  had  to  suffer,  for  a  customs'  officer  was 
stationed  near  the  wharf.  So  we  were  hidden  in  a  small  hole  rigi.t 
behind  the  engine-room,  and  did  not  come  out  until  the  steamer  wa> 
passing  Kwannonzeki  at  the  entrance  of  the  Ray  of  Yeddo.  At  day- 
break we  were  told  to  come  out  on  deck,  but  trouble  never  ended,  fr 
we  encountered  so  rough  a  gale  that  we  were  unable  to  eat  uny tiling 
during  the  whole  voyage,  because  of  sea-sickness. 

7 


9$  JAPAN    AT   T1IK   CROSS    ROADS 

On  arrival  at  Shanghai  the  party  of  live  divided. 
I  to  and  Inouye  sillied  on  with  the  sailing  ship  /'fsffisus, 
their  three  comrade  ,uroin;<  aboard  the  \\'tiitc  Adder. 
The  voyage  to  London  took  them  round  the  Cape  of 
Good  Hope,  and  la-t<  d  lour  months  and  three  days,  a 
period  which  taught  them  something  of  navigation  and 
more  of  Kn^'lish.  They  were  signed  on  as  ordinary 
sailors  as  a  result  of  a  misunderstanding.  Asked  their 
object  in  i^oin^  to  Kn^land.  Inouve  liad  replied,  'To 
study  navigation,'  whereas  hi-  had  meant  to  say,  '  To  study 
naval  affairs.' 

In  addition  to  swabbing  deck*.,  reeling  yards,  and 
the  use  and  ahu.-e  of  the  Ln.;iidi  lan.miai^e.  the  adveii- 
turers  learnt  a  ^rood  deal  ot  huma'i  nature,  and  more-  of 
card  L,ranu.-->  as  played  in  the  fo'ea^tle.  (  >ne  of  lin- 
stock stones  the  late  .Manjui>  u-'-d  to  tell  was  of  how 
they  lo^t  all  their  ready  luiuN  to  th<-ir  shipmates  at  euchre, 
except  live  dollar-,  with  which  the}'  stepped  ashore  at 
(jravcsend  one  i  old  moimn.;.  Hungry,  thev  went  to  a 
baker'.-,  shop  and  a-ked  tor  bread,  holding  out  the  live 
dollar-,  and  tru-tin-  t!ie  baker  to  -ive  them  the  n.^ht 
(  han^e.  "  ile  L,rave  u->  each  a  loaf,"  he  --aid,  "but  I 
am  still  waiting  lor  th«-  change. " 

In  London  th  •  J'arty  lodged  with  I)r.  W.illianison, 
I'role--or  ot  ('li'im-t;;,  at  London  l'ni\cr-it\.  It  wa> 
v,  hib:  in  hi^  hou-;-  th  it  t!i-->  re  -Tved  letter^  informing 
them  of  ill'-  proposal  ol  thi-  <  ho-h:i  clan  to  declare  uai 
"M  thi-  lorei^n  I'o'A'cr-..  Shoiilv  att -r  tin-  new>  i'-ai  lied 
Lir.daiid  ot  th-1  alta<  k  on  IOMM^II  \',at'-lnp-  in  the  Shimo- 
no  -eki  St  i  alt  •>.  1 1  >  iv!a;e>  I  i . 


(in-     tie.   .t    vi-  ::i!"-i    i  .|    I:  -•   I  'i .  i,  f.i;;.il\     u  '  •  •    v. .  •;;'    /  /'.  ( 

/   »:,    ,  -'iil'lt     '.  .   .1   ',-. t  '  i  •:-   .1     ;  <  '  >:;i   I  !•  : '  ;•!  i'  i  .  .ur  1    :i    S:  '.•,•:»•,<.••     \.\    \\  .\ 
i  •  i  *  .....  1 1 .     '  1  ;  j  i  1 1 1 :  •    :  1 1  i  u  i  :  • . !  •  I  1 1    'i   t    •    h  i  u  i  ^  1 1  j  '  1 1  l  >  1 1  i  ^  1 1  \\ .  1 1   '  1 1  j  *  • 

hv  (  :.  :,u  W.ii  i  iui  • ,  \s  !ii  1 1  i;  j  •  .11  I  .1  ivi  i  I ; !'•,;•(•  ',  >  i  <  .nl  t  i  j  .1  j  •.  i 
(  ittf.:liv.  V.'i-  \.i;t-  .ill  .1  ',  .',;:i<;i<!  v.  :,t-n  I'ii  .hi.it:.  11  \'..i  1 1  .tii/cil. 
'  Ji.i  .  !i •••:  \.t ':  ;;  <  .|  tin-  '  )!•  •  :  \ ..:  r  \'  .»:  K'  v.  '  •  n  •!•  ::  .  t'n1  : MI  i.n  '.<  :  \ 
.in<!  '  !-.t;-\.i:-l  at  ( irn-nuu  ;i  ati>!  <.;:n  jlui  ii:i!ini!i  !  u-  •!  l!,r 
UK  •  ::.j  .i:  .il.ic  ,i'!\  .1::'  c  <  (  tl.r  \\  t  !d  :i  n.C  :>  ;i  ,  n\  ci  |.t;  ,111.  \\'<- 
I  (.-(.''jMll/cd  t!n.  cat. i  ;i  <j<li'  u'  :.  !i  [li'l.t  t.ill  up.  -i  (  ii.i-.liil  111  living 


POLITICS  99 

to  waj^e  w.ir  against  sucli  great  Powers.  The  attitude  of  the  Knglish 
Parliament,  which  favoured  the  bombardment  of  Shimonoseki,linadc 
us  tremble.  Inouye  and  I  determined  to  return  home,  though  without 
knowing  whether  our  influence  would  have  any  effect  or  not.  We 
wanted  to  stop  this  folly  even  at  the  risk  of  our  lives. 

So  Inouye  ami  ho  attain  took  ship,  leaving  their 
comrades  to  continue  their  studies.  Arriving  in  Yoko- 
hama, they  were  smuggled  ashore  by  Mr.  Harris,  of 
Messrs,  (ilover  and  Co.,  and  hidden  in  a  boarding-house, 
disguised  a^  Portuguese.  Finding  it  impossible  to  get 
to  Choshu  overland,  and  learning  that  an  ultimatum  had 
already  been  sent  to  Prince  Mori,  Inouye  proposed  that 
they  should  visit  Mr.  Rutherford  Alcock,  the  English 
Minister.  To  him  the  young  men  appealed  for  a  delay 
in  the  bombardment.  The  Minister  at  lirst  took  the 
matter  as  a  joke,  but  then,  recognizing  their  earnest- 
ness and  the  truth  of  their  argument  that  Choshu  reali/ed 
nothing  of  the  greatness  of  the  nations  opposed  to  them, 
and  of  the  futility  of  resistance,  lie  agreed  to  lay  the 
matter  before  a  council  of  the  ministers  and  naval  com- 
manders of  the  Allied  Nations. 

As  a  result  it  was  agreed  to  postpone  the  opening 
of  the  bombardment  of  Shimonoscki  a  further  twelve 
days,  and  to  send  Inouye  and  I  to  on  a  foreign  warship 
to  a  [joint  on  the  Bungo  coast,  whence  they  could  easily 
get  overland  to  Choshu.  Further,  a  letter  was  written  and 
signed  by  all  the  members  of  the  council,  addressed  to 
the  Lord  of  Choshu,  and  handed  to  the  two  young  men, 
to  be  delivered  at  the  time  when  they  should  advise 
their  chief  of  the  futility  of  resistance.  Captain  (later 
Admiral)  Sir  William  Dowell  took  Ito  and  Inouye  aboard 
H.M.S.  Hurroxa  to  ilimejima,  whence  they  proceeded  to 
Yamaguchi,  having  meantime  resumed  samurai  attire. 

Mori  Motoiio-i  granted  tlivm  an  interview,  whereat, 
as  Ito  writes,  "  we  opened  the  map  ami  explained 
European  civi'i/ation  ana  i;s  strength  for  nearly  four 
hours."  They  urged  that  a  truce  be  made  with  me 
enemy,  and  that  thereafter  every  effort  should  be  made 
by  Choshu  to  restorer  the  Imperial  power.  The  letter  from 


ioo  JAPAN    AT    THK   CROSS    ROADS 

the  foreign  minister>  wa->  not  presented,  because  it  might 
have  aroused  suspicion-.  against  the  young  men,  the  more 
*j  as  it  was  couched  in  rather  threatening  terms. 

Tluir  efforts  for  a  peaceful  solution  were-  unavailing 
against  the  fanatical  extremists,  who  had  obtained  the 
upper  liar.d  at  the  Cho-lm  Court.  The  young  men  paid 
a  tinal  visit  to  Admiral  Kuper.  who  commanded  the 
Allied  forces,  and  then  went  a-hore  to  return  to  Yama- 
guchi.  <  >n  their  way  they  were  attacked  by  a  party  of 
the  extremists,  and  though  ho  escaped  without  damage, 
Inouye.  who  wa->  the  real  object  of  the  murderous  attempt, 
was  left  tor  dead.  Though  terribly  wounded,  his  friends 
carried  him  to  his  mother's  house.  Believing  himself 
dving,  and  fearful  of  the  dishonour  of  having  been  killed 
by  his  enemies,  he  (ailed  hi-  brother  and  ordered  him 
to  Mrike  his  head  ojf.  Ju-t  as  his  brother  drew  his 
s\\ord  for  the  purpose  hi-,  mother  rushed  forward  and, 
covering  him  with  her  body,  protested  that  he  would 
re.  'over.  He  did.  Three  w<  ek-  Liter  hi-  enemies  returned 
and  carried  him  oft"  to  pri-o:i,  where  he  lay  for  .several 
da\s  fearing  execution.  That  he  was  not  at  once  executed 
is  surpri-ing,  but  wa-  probably  due  to  t!ie  failure  of  the 
<  'ho-hu  arm-,  a-  he  had  Con-told,  and  a  <  on-e(jiient  sneak- 
ing re-jie.  t  tor  hi-  intelligence.  At  all  events  he  was, 
alter  a  short  c  ontmeiiifit,  r.'!ea-ed  by  order  of  Prince 
Mori,  and  re-tore.  1  to  !a\our  and  the  c  ou;i<  il  of  the  clan. 
N  --\  •  rthel---  -,  I)--  bore  to  the  ^ra\e  the  s(  ar-,  drastic 
•  Aid'-nce  of  the  (lan;;er  of  being  hiieral  in  |)re-.Mei|i 
da\s. 

Shimoiio-eki    had    ben    bombarded    \\ith   di-a-trous    re- 

ull    ,    and    at    the     .tine    lim--    the    <   h.'^ha    ann\     had    bei  n 

at;a<k'-d    b-.    the   Sho.'un'-.   force  >   and    driven    ba<k,     .\\hat 


.Shirna:-u  Hi  ainit  u.  Prune  ot  ih  Sat-uma  <  Ian.  v\  .  1  1 
aware,  th.tn).  •  ;.  '':'•  re.  ent  boinliaidnient  ot  Ka:ro->hinia, 
'•f  the  -irenv.th  o*  ;he  foreign  -'jtiadton-.  mt'-rveiied. 
;!•  wa  t!i-:i  jiio'ti!^;  ior  the  i<-  toiaiion  ot  the  Inijniial 
rt/itnc,  and  h  :d  i:o  v\  i  h  to  .-  the  i  Lin  h«-  piniipally 
Felled  on  to  a  •  ,1  .1  Sat  'Una  <  i  u  h-  !  1  ••  t\'.  <  en  t!u  ton  i:;nei  s 


TOMTITS  ioi 

and  tin-  Shogun.  He  persuaded  the  two  Prince.-*  Mori  to 
demand  a  truce,  and  peace  negotiations  were  entrusted 
to  a  commission  of  Tukasugi,  Inouye,  and  I  to.  Sir 
Ernest  Satow,  the  [xditical  agent  witli  the  s(juadron, 
refused  to  receive  this  commission  as  lacking  full  powers. 
Another  was  apjxjinted,  consisting  of  Takasugi,  Admiral 
Shishido,  and  Inouye,  with  I  to  as  interpreter,  a  curious 
appointment,  inasmuch  as  he.  sjx)ke  English  worse  than 
Inouye.  A  satisfactory  treaty  was  signed,  and  henceforth 
the  two  great  clans,  Satsuma  and  Choshu,  lived  on  friendly 
terms  with  the  foreigners. 

It  was  almost  impossible  at  this  time  to  differentiate 
between  I  to  and  Inouye.  Although  the-  latter  was  seven 
years  older,  all  through  his  life  he  was  outshone  by  his 
companion.  This  does  not  by  any  means  appear  to  have 
been  justified.  So  little  is  known  even  to-day  of  the 
inside  of  Japanese  jxjlitics  just  before  and  after  the 
revolution,  and  so  large  did  I  to  bulk  in  the  public  eye 
during  later  years,  that  it  is  perhaps  natural  that  he 
should  have  received  credit  for  actions  inspired  by  Inouye. 
In  addition,  I  to  was  not  the  man  to  hide  his  light  under 
a  bushel,  and  was  by  no  means  backward  in  announcing 
and  even  in  praising  his  own  good  works.  Inouye  was 
a  man  of  very  different  calibre,  modest  and  retiring  as 
regards  what  he  had  done,  though  energetic  in  action 
and  even  officious  when  he  thought  his  services  were 
required. 

There  is  a  disposition  to  regard  Inouye  and  I  to  as 
having  introduced  the  idea  of  a  restoration  of  the  Imperial 
|K)\\"cr  as  a  result  of  their  visit  to  Europe.  This  view 
is  to  be  traced  even  in  The  Times  biography  of  the  late 
Marquis.  In  fact,  these  ideas  were  by  no  means  new. 
Yoshida,  Hashimoto,  Rai  Sanyo,  and  I'gai  had  been 
executed  for  them  years  before  Inouye's  and  Ito's  furtive 
voyage  to  London.  The  work  that  these  latter  performed 
was  not  the  creation  of  these  ideas,  but  their  translation 
into  deeds  by  the  union  of  the  four  clans  of  Satsuma, 
Choshu,  Tosa,  and  Hi/en.  Inouye  and  I  to,  raided  to  the 
posts  of  clan  advisers,  were  among  the  most  important 


102  JAl'AN    AT    THK    CROSS    ROADS 

diplomatic  instruments  which  the  feudal  lord-,  \\ho  >up- 
[*>rted  the  Emperor,  had  at  their  di-posal.  Ito  as-i>ted 
Kido  to  make  the  alliance  with  Satsuma,  whilst  Inouye 
was  resjH)nsi!)le  {or  those  with  To-a  and  Hi/en. 

Hoth  before  and  after  the  Restoration  Inotne  was  an 
uncompromising  advocate  of  progress  and  of  the  Kuro- 
jw.ini/atioii  of  the  country.  The  late  Viseuum  Fnkulu, 
formerly  lecturer  to  the  Imperial  HoiiM-hold,  writes  in  his 
Tfnto  Sanjiuncn  Shi  :  — 

In.'uyc's  view  at  that  time  wa-  not  onlv  l«  chantv  tlu-  national 
institutions,  learning  and  education  to  Km-,. pi  an  nx  del-,  luit  to  wipe 
out  all  our  ow'ii  old  cu-t<>m-  and  h.dnt^  ;  in-  wanted  to  >iil>>tituti- 
biead  for  nee,  Kuropian  clothe--,  ior  k:m>  rie,  and  to  turn  tin  paddy- 
fields  into  meadow-land  to  pastille-  >heep. 

Inouye    admits    the     >oft     impea  •hmeni.        lie     himself 

writes  :-- 

1'iuiei  the  Tokii^awas  (lit-  piincip.ti  people  in  the  eoutitiv  weie  ve;  v 
anti-l>  •:  ei^n.  and  t;i;-  attack  on  foreign  -.hip^  w.t-  onlv  an  outwaid 
si^n  of  the  altitude  of  the  whole  people.  Att--r  the  Ke-i. .:  a'.ioii  we 
i|Uli_k!y  leah/i'd  that  We  e.-iild  oiiiv  hope  ],i  itunpcii-  With  the 
foreigner-- liv  adopting  their  nietlio<N.  TJ.,-  teaeh-ni'^  of  tl.e  C'line-e 
phil- .-oplie!  s  were  p::ncipilly  i  e-jM.n-iMe  f.  .1  o.;i  in.-nhtv.  t  >pm;on 
-u  i;:::;  i  ound.  and  t  he:  e  w.:>  a  i  ,u  e  t"  Mm  <  >pea:n/e  i  vc  i  \  ll.in^.  I'ndei 
I  he  "I't  ikimawas  it  had  been  ill.-^.il  P.[  jap.ine  e  t"  leave  t::e  lonntiy. 
It. >  ind  I  vvilii  tlirc'i' oilier  Voting  nun  !i  i  i  i'oi  !anaie!\  In  i-n  al»le  to  ^o 
to  L  -ndon,  and  after  '.in  leturn  v.  e  1:1  .  ;ed  vei  v  li'in^h'  t'.e  intio 
dii'  ::  n  of  t  ceiLj:i  c:  !'':n-.  A  reait:o:i  -i-\  1:1.  a-id  e\  el  \  '  linu1,  N1.  i 
;ir>di  !!••  1  ,iv  c"'.:  lim.^  t'i  \\'e  tern  p:ac'.ic<  .\irn\-,  \.i\s-.  t'ojiti-. 
K  ha;.it!o:;,  etc.  I  la-  n  n  i!  -itu.it:. .n  to!!  wed.  liie  nppei  >.l.i--- 
!'-.i:n'  :;iui 'i  .pai<  i.i  i  t!ia  :  the  lovvi;.  .ind  \\  ••  ii;d  t:e  -keicl.'ii  o|  .1 
:-;'.del!l  ilYili/-  !  late.  i"<!  t.'ie  I,.'.;  vie  .ind  l'.r:\  w  e!  <•  :  .1  i  It  \  '•].  .) .  'I 
:  -i  e'  .;npat  i-  •  .n.  \\'e  iiad,  !  '!  e\.i:n pie,  v  •  <;::  '  ->  o|  p.i-  IK  e  I  at  n  .!  1  i  • 
:•-  :l  nor  >  i  iinnial  c-.dc-  ./I  law. 


In  tii'  (it  '  (•  .1  hi  « d  .;<>•,  ;  niin-nt  I  n«  >u\  • 
Mi:u  let  <d  1  ina::i  •-,  and  ]'  l  :;c'i'-tali\  <•>:  idi-ii-d  tli.ii 
;•  \s  .i  in  fina'u  ••  ir-  di  [i!.i\  i-  !  i:io  :  'n.ii  I. •  > !'  .  h;  <  t  •  .il  :\  • 
.ind  .'«lnr!,i  ti.i'i.  a'1'!  l  .  \->  ln;:i  ua-  pii'i  ij'.ii!.  d'n- 
tlr-  !i. ih  torm.it  o'i  i.i  I.UI.IT  •  i  urn-ii'  .  IIOM  ,.i.  k  •  o| 
1 1-  e  to  ,;.jid  and  .iiveJ  .  I  l<  !.a  i--!l  «n  i<-<  <'\>\  a  \  -  i  . 


POLITICS  103 

concise  and  interesting  account  of  tin  methods  by  which 
the  changes  were  introduced.  He  points  out  what  has 
been  little  recogni/ed,  that  one  of  the  chief  reasons  for 
the  abolition  of  the  feudalities  was  the  urgent  necessity 
ol  eentrali/ing  the  tinancial  system,  and  doing  away 
with  the  innumerable  currencies,  which  were  in  circula- 
tion, in  accordance  \vith  the  individual  tastes  of  the 
dainiyo.  Kven  so  the  reform  was  not  sufficient,  for  paper 
money  was  the  only  real  money  which  Japan  then  had. 
The  taxes  were  still  paid  in  rice,  which  had  to  be  converted 
into  cash,  a  dangerous  operation  owing  to  the  heavy 
fluctuations  of  the  market.  In  addition,  the  expenses  of 
the  government,  due  to  the  introduction  of  .Western 
methods,  interest  on  loans  and  pensions  for  the  samurai 
consistent!}'  exceeded  revenue.  Inouye  and  Shibusawa, 
the  two  Vice-Ministers,  unable  to  get  their  views  on 
the  liquidation  of  paper  accepted,  resigned  office  in  1873. 

In  1.^72  Inouye  placed  belore  the  Council  a  pro- 
|x>sal  to  set  aside  Y  1,000,000  per  annum  for  rebuilding 
purposes  in  Tokyo,  intending  to  reconstruct  the  city  by 
degrees  in  bricks  and  stone.  The  Council  refused  the 
proposal.  If  it  had  been  accepted  Tokyo  would  have 
been  saved  those  appalling  conflagrations  which  annually 
cause  losses  of  over  I!  1,000,000  per  annum. 

Count  Okuma  took  charge  of  the  Treasury,  but  matters 
went  from  bad  to  worse-,  until  in  iSSi  paper  was  at  a 
discount  of  (So  per  cent.  In  that  year  M'atsukata 
Masayoshi  was  appointed  Finance  Minister  and,  acting 
on  the  recommendations  01  a  committee,  presided  over  by 
Inouye,  put  into  operation  a  scheme  for  tin:  conversion 
of  tin-  currency  notes  within  six  years.  So  successfully 
was  this  operation  carried  out  that  it  was  completed  within 
four  years.  It  was  during  this  period  that  the  Hank  of 
Japan  was  founded,  a  circumstance  with  which  Inouye 
was  intimately  connected.  It  hail  been  during  his  Yice- 
Ministcrship  that  a  banking  system  on  the  American  plan 
was  introduced,  and  thi>  system,  minus  the  note-issuing 
privilege,  remains  still  in  force  to-day. 

During    the    Franco- Prussian    War    Inouve    had    been 


104  JAPAN    AT    TIIK   CROSS    ROADS 

in  London,  and  afterwards  was  sent  to  Berlin.  Tin-re 
he  had  opportunities  uf  studying  economics,  and  it  was 
the  re-ult  of  his  observations  at  that  time  which  made 
him  an  opponent  of  the  enormous  indemnity  extracted 
from  China  at  the  Peace  of  Shimonoseki.  Inouye  pre- 
dicted the  '  boom  and  the  burst  '  which  followed  tin- 
victorious  campaign.  '.Many  years  later  he  referred  to 
this  warning,  and  remarked  that  the  indemnity  from 
China  had  gone  the  way  of  all  other  money— abroad, 
but  with  this  difference,  that  it  had  gone  quicker. 

There  was  a  distinct  connection  between  the  late 
Marquis's  tours  abroad  during  the  years  following  the 
Restoration  and  his  subsequent  revision  policy  when 
Foreign  Minister.  He  wrote  at  tliat  time  : — 

The  exodus  of  money  from  the  country  is  one  of  the  most  serious 
danger*  we  have  to  face.  Whilst  it  is  of  the  utmost  importance  for  the 
national  prestige  to  restore  as  soon  as  possible  the  Imperial  authority 
over  the  Treaty  port-:,  it  is  no  less  important  to  obtain  the  abolition  of 
foreign  control  over  <>:ir  taril'f  autonomy.  Hy  this  fault  not  onlv  are  we 
spending  our  money  abroad  unnecessarily  and  extravagantly,  but  the 
development  of  our  natural  resources  and  of  our  industries  is  being 
indefinitely  postponed. 

A  founder  of  Japan's  monetary  system,  the  go-between 
for  her  first  foreign  loan,  the  Marquis  remained  to  tin- 
time  of  his  death  the  most  trusted  adviser  of  the  late 
Kmperor  on  all  matters  connected  with  finance.  During 
the  Russo-Japanese  \\"ar  he  was  ap[x>inted  a  (Governor 
of  tin-  J'reasury,  and  he  was  principally  responsible 
with  Baron  Shibiisawa  for  the  cxposi-  ot  the  financial 
muddle  which  resulted  in  the  substitution  ol  Marquis 
Salon,!  for  the  late  I'rince  Katsura  i:i  I<;M 

I  he  '!>•(  ",i >'•<!  statesman  was  n<>  !e>->  intimately  <  on- 
rie<  ted  with  the  luinlu't  ol  {.ip.in'i  foreign  .ilfans  than 
with  her  finance..  His  early  diplomatic  exjxTiencr  in 
lh'  in'ere  t  .  ol  In  i  I. in  wa  •.  ,1  ii'tur;  p:e!'i<!'-  to  grea'er 
a'tivities  .in  In  hall  of  tin-  nation.  Durni.;  the  earlier 
yea;  ,  ot  Meiji  It.  eaiiMMly  advocated  the  -.ubmission  ol 
lo:e;f;;i  .itl.ni>  to  the  unity  and  de\elopment  of  |aji.m. 


POLITICS  105 

He  was  largely  responsible  for  the  derision  of  1^73 
not  to  go  to  war  with  Korea.  In  December  1875 
Inouyc  was  Vice- Plenipotentiary  to  Count  Kurocla  in 
the  mission  to  Korea  to  obtain  satisfaction  for  the  attack 
on  the  Unyo-Kwan,  Although  Vice-Plenipotentiary  was 
the  title  given  him  on  this  occasion,  the  diplomatic 
handling  was  entirely  in  his  hands,  Kuroda  in  reality 
being  the  commandcr-in-chief  of  the  naval  and  military 
forces  which  accompanied  the  mission. 

The  expedition  left  Japan  on  January  6,  1876,  and 
on  February  I  oth  the  first  meeting  of  the  envoys  and 
the  Korean  representatives  took  place.  The  devious 
diplomacy  and  internal  intrigues  of  the  Korean  Court 
threatening  to  waste  time,  Inouye  on  February  I2th 
handed  the  Korean  Council  a  ten  days'  ultimatum,  which 
was  finally  accepted,  and  a  treaty  opening  Korea  was 
signed  on  February  27th.  The  Japanese  envoys  had 
followed  in  every  detail  and  with  equal  success  the 
gunboat  policy  of  Commodore  Perry.  This  treaty  is 
particularly  important,  not  only  as  the  first  foreign  treaty 
signed  by  Korea,  but  as  the  first  diplomatic  intimation 
of  Japan's  future  policy  on  the  mainland.  It  was  a 
direct  denial  of  China's  sovereignty  over  Korea.  It 
is  noteworthy,  too,  that  the  treaty,  whilst  obtaining  for 
Japan  consular  jurisdiction  and  cxtra-territoriality  in 
Korea,  refuses  the  same  to  Koreans  in  Japan.  In  truth 
the  young  nation  was  beginning  to  learn  with  a 
vengeance. 

Down  to  the  Satsuma  rebellion  the  five  statesmen 
who  have  probably  had  mo>t  to  do  wuh  the  modernization 
of  Japan,  Inouyc,  Ito,  Okuma,  Vamagata,  and  Matsu- 
kata,  occupied  only  subordinate  though  important  posi- 
tions. In  a  country  where  the  release  from  feudalism 
was  but  a  few  years  old  it  was  natural  that  the  clan 
leaders  should  still  hold  the  nominal  power,  even  though 
they  were  guided  by  the  advice  of  their  juniors.  After 
the  Satsuma  rebellion  matters  were  changed,  and  the 
younger  men  occupied  the  government  in  name  as  well 
as  in  fact. 


icV>  JAPAN    AT    T1IK    CROSS    ROADS 

In  i-^r"  Inouye  became  first  Minister  of  Pub'ic  Works 
and  thru  Foreign  Mini-tcr.  In  the  latter  office  he 
-IK  i  ceded  Tera.shima  Muncnori.  <>ne  of  tin-  m<M  M  holarly 
(>t  t!i<-  iead'-rs  of  tlu-  Restoration  and  tin-  lir-i  Japanese 
Mnn-ter  t<>  (irc.it  Britain,  He  still  held  th.it  ofiic.-  in 
i  >>,•_'  when  the  Koreans  rose,  e\[>e!led  i\\<-  |apane-e 
!epu--,entative  Ilanabusa.  and  burnt  th<-  legation.  \\'hrn 
the  new-  came  to  Japan  the  Council  ot  State  \vas  divided. 
Kuri'da.  Yama;^ata.  Terashima,  and  <  >ki  wanted  \\ar 
< ':i!y  Prime  Iwakura  and  Inouye  were  firmly  fixed  on 
a  pi-aecful  solution.  No  deci-ion  was  co^iv  to,  thoii^ii 
the  Council  sat  late  into  the  ni;ht.  The  tollowinv;  <!a\' 
a  Coun<  i!  lietore  tile  lh:o;e  wa-  held.  Inouye  tlefi-nd"  d 
In-  ]'oli<  y  in  a  \ery  (!e\«riy  argued  speech.  He  ^aid 
thit  th»-  .irtion  of  tin-  Seoul  mo!>  \'/a-  not  only  a  inaiter 
a.'leciiliL,  Ja|ian.  lie  lielie\cd  that  il  (OIK cilied  all  the 
foreign  nation-,  because  it  M  eined  to  him  to  l>e  merely 
an  cxpre-xion  (.t  Korean  hatred  a.^ain^t  all  intrud'-r^, 
'n  tin-  cav  directed  a^ain-^t  the  |apaii'->e  a>  the  most 
oi>no\iou-,  o\\i;u;  to  the  ticaty  of  i'>7'i  ha\in^  i>eeii 
toned  i»v  japan  on  Koiva.  "  Sii'  h  a  mo\rine:i!  has 
not  iteen  unknown  in  tin-  (oimtry,  and  I  lor  one  \se!I 
i •i-i;i'-n,| ><  •  an  t  xpre--;nn  of  it  v.h  n  the  Mn;_;Ii^h  legation 
in  Tok'.  o  \\a-  :  .it ire  i»\-  fa:iatnai  \,mur<ii."  ile  pi" 
p-i-id  to  '-.end  lianai'U  a  Iiack  to  Kona  un<I'  T  mi!i'aiy 
and  na\al  e-c.jjt  a:.d  diiiiai.d  exj)l.mat  ions  I  rom  'he 
koifin  a'llh  ir;ii<->.  At'i  r  li'a:in.:  tin-  arguments  ol 
Knroda  .i'id  tli'-  pr«-\'.ar  Mini  'eis  tin-  Kniji^ror  d<  <  ;ded 
i",'i;e!\  in  la\'iiir  of  liimr.r,  and  .1  re-crip!  ua^  i  surd 
'•I  hiiii  !o  carry  oil!  !n-  pi"j."-al.  \\'ln  n  Ilanalm  a 
.iiii.i.l  iia'k  n  l\"i«a  ];-•  i(i;;nd  a  ''iiii;  ('linn-'  army 
\'..'!'in.'  loi  jnni.  iMiki'i  \>\  \.hi'h  the  K"iran  ("oint 

•  !'•.••!     a     [M.iii  •.      <i|     |  •"    i.i  -'inallon.        R«-:nfoi'  einrnis 

">     i;,"-,;.,     had   !„  .  :,    !;,  pt    in    ;!„•    |,.M  !v;i"U',d.        I  he 

Mi       ''-I    iX'iTfi   .1     'r.it'.i     rip  a'   io    N::i-cn, 

i  •  •     :  t : !  i '  1 1  •.     a :  i •  i     li a  >  a !     ;  <  I ; '  I  •  •  i  (  <  1 1 1 •  i . !  -     had     armed, 

• .  • !    a      ;  1 1  •  -  •  I    .1      i '  1 1  p    i ; I i ; m  1 1  • : ;  1 1    1\  "  i •  ,  i    .  c  i •  <  d 

|  i:  an:     ,-    ,1,-mand  Ih:- 

•v.   i  ,      IMC  il',     I"iio\\'-d    i>\     th-        l     na:ille 


POLITICS  107 

of  treaties  between  Korea  and  Britain,  Russia,  the  United 
States,  and  Germany.  It  may  he  remarked  tint  hefore 
dispatching  the  exj>edition  Inouye  (ailed  a  meeting  of 
the  foreign  representatives  at  Tokyo,  and,  explaining 
his  plan,  obtained  their  approval. 

It  was  under  Inouye  and  at  the  suggestion  of  Goto 
Shojiro  and  Fuku/awa  that  Japan  began  to  intervene- 
in  Korea's  internal  alTairs,  and  the  subsidizing  of  news-. 
papers  in  Seoul,  of  .schools  and  {x-r>onages,  l"d  to  the 
creation  at  the  Korean  Court  of  a  distinct  and  influential 
Japanophile  party.  The  Franco-Chinese  ,\Yar  gave 
Japan  an  opportunity  of  dealing  the  Queen's  party  some 
heavy  blows,  and  the'  voluntary  remission  of  the  balance 
of  the  iSS2  indemnity  \vas  compensated  by  the  ex- 
tension to  Japan  of  the  most-favoured-nation  treatment. 
Within  a  few  months  Japanese  influence  had  become 
so  strong  as  to  result  in  the  proclamation  of  a  new 
form  of  government.  Against  this  the  Queen's  party, 
supported  by  the  Chinese,  forced  a  coup  d'ctai,  burnt 
the  Japanese  legation,  and  the  Minister,  >um>unded  by 
his  guard,  had  to  fight  his  way  out  of  Seoul  to  Xin>en. 
Again  the  two  countries  were  on  the-  brink  ol  war, 
and  Inouye  for  the  second  time  saved  them.  Following 
the  precedent  he  had  laid  down  in  18X3  he  went  himself 
to  Korea  as  special  envoy  with  an  imposing  escort. 
Arrived  at  Seoul  on  January  }rd,  he  opened  negotiations 
on  the  <Sili  with  Kin-ko->hin,  the  Korean  Fon  ign 
Minister,  and,  in  spite  of  the  threats  of  the  Chinese 
envoy  against  both  Japan  and  Kore.i,  in  two  da\s  had 
obtained  the  signature  of  a  treaty  embodying  apologies 
and  indemnities.  The  policy  of  Inouye  in  respect  to 
Korea  is  particularly  worthy  of  admiration.  He  made 
no  exorbitant  demands  on  that  country,  and  the  modesty 
of  the  indemnity  required  created,  indeed,  considerable 
discontent  in  Japan.  I  kit  Inouye  was  satisfied  with  a 
moderate  compensation  because  he  had  no  belief  in 
the  impossibility  of  friend>hip  between  Korean  and 
Japanese  under  wi>e  and  temperate  guidance,  and 
because  he  realized  that  the  crux  of  the  trouble  lay 


loS  JAl'AN    AT    THK    CROSS    ROADS 

not  in  Seoul  but  in  IVkin.  For1  this  reason,  his  mission 
accomplished,  I  to  was  dispatched  to  China,  and  extracted 
from  Li-hung-Chang  the  Convention  of  Tientsin,  which 
placed  the  two  countries  on  a  level  in  regard  to 
Korea.  The  Chinese  have  a  proverb,  "  IK*  who  plays 
the  guitar  has  his  eyes  fixed  on  the  swallows," 
and  the  Inouye  mission  was  an  exemplification  of 
the  same. 

During  his  long  occupation  of  the  Ministry  of  Foreign 
Affairs  (iXjS-.S^i  Inouye  made  various  attempts  to 
obtain  a  revision  of  the  treaties  with  foreign  Powers, 
but  without  success. 

Of  the  Japanese  statesmen  of  that  time  he  was  the 
one  most  fitted  by  his  liberal  and  progressive  -pint 
and  by  his  knowledge  of  foreign  conditions  to  essay 
the  task.  Revision  had  by  18X2,  when  he  made  his  first 
attempt,  already  become  the  principal  national  demand, 
and  it  was  incumbent  on  the  Government  to  make  every 
effort  to  carry  it  through  before  the  new  order  of  things 
to  be  created  by  the  Constitution  should  arise.  Inouye 
had  very  definite  \iews  on  re\ision.  He  believed  that 
unles-  s<,me  rearrangement  of  the  position  of  the  Powers 
was  arrived  at  Japan  inight  easily  be  forced  into  a 
similar  position  to  Kgypt.  He  recognized  that  the 
eountry  was  not  ye!  in  a  -ulliciently  advained  state  to  be 
able  to  demand  the  complete  withdrawal  of  consular 
jurisdiction,  but  he  telt  That  it  was  ^utii*  iently  advan<  ed 
to  demand  an  immediate  revision,  provided  that 
guarantee^  were  guen  to  the  Powers  in  judicial 
matter-  in  view  of  the  non-completion  of  the  codes  and 
the  miprrfei  ;  organi/atioii  of  the  judicature.  He  was 
able  to  reali/e  the  ne<  e-sit  v  of  a  <  r »ri,promi  -e,  < -ven  thotr.di 
th  it  compromise  should  •  ontain  features  di-.ta  telul  to 
the  turd'y  n.iMonalism  wli;<  !i  the  I\-  -.torat  ion  lia<l  gi\eii 
i*u;li  to  in  ihe  inuntry.  lie  w.r>  th"  more  eager  to 
o!i», tin  revision  as  !)••  f'-l;  very  wrongly  t!ia:  the  I'-tti-rs 
•in  Japan'  tan'!  aiitonoim  \\eie  setioii-.  lundran*  <  -^  to 

the      (  leVeb  »j)I!le:i*       ol        t  !|e      (  i  <UIlt  !'\   . 

At    In.   In  -t    .itt'inpt   i'i    i  '-'<    .-   r    \\.i-.   <  I'-n    t"   him   that 


POLITICS  109 

the  foreign  representatives  were  unwilling  to  agree  to 
revision  until  reforms  had  been  more  effectually  carried 
out.  This  made  Inouye  more  enthusiastic  than  ever 
lor  the  Kuropeani/ation  of  the  land.  He  handed  each 
of  the  representatives  a  schedule  of  the  proposed 
measures,  and  himself  took  the  lead  in  their  reali/a- 
tion.  The.  Foreign  Ol'iice  became  the  hub  of  the 
Western  model  school.  He  said,  "The  only  way  to 
prove  our  Kuropeani/ation  is  to  be  it."  European  clothes 
were  officially  encouraged,  European  coiffure  for  ladies 
approved,  Western  fashions  of  dancing  introduced  and 
even  officially  taught,  foreign  languages  added  to  school 
curriculums,  social  halls  built,  foreign  architecture  ad- 
mired and  copied.  Side  by  side  with  these  lighter 
attainments  foreign  advisers  were  westernizing  govern- 
ment departments,  laying  railroads,  building  lighthouses, 
drafting  codes.  Ito  brought  back  from  Europe  the 
Prussian  grades  of  nobility  and  a  Bismarckian  ca^t-iron 
Constitution.  In  all  of  these  changes  Inouye  had  a 
large  share,  for  in  the  Europeanization  of  (lie  land  he 
was  a  whole-hogger  second  to  none.1 

By  iS8(>,  when  the  Daijokwan  with  its  Ministers 
of  the  Right  and  Left  had  been  abolished  and  Ito 
presided  over  the  first  Cabinet,  matters  were  ripe  for 
a  new  attempt.  By  April,  1887,  an  agreement  with 
the  sixteen  Powers  had  reached  the  point  where  only 
signatures  were  needed.  Unhappily  at  the  last  moment 
a  split  in  the  official  ranks  occurred,  a  popular  agitation 
arose  against  the  proposed  admission  of  foreign  judges 
to  the  bench,  even  though  officials  of  the  Japanese 
Government  and  not  of  their  nationals,  an  agitation 
increased  by  the  failure  of  the  Japanese  prosecution 
in  the  case  of  the  ss.  Nonnanton,  and  Inouye  found  him- 
self obliged  to  withdraw  the  proposals.  A  few  days 

1  Inouye  in  i8cS6  gave  a  party  at  his  country  villa,  which  the 
Kmpcror,  Empress,  and  Dowager  Empress  attended.  It  was  the 
lirst  time  the  Imperial  personages  witnessed  a  theatrical  perturmancc. 
It  was  he  also  who  arranged  the  performance  given  by  the  Chari'ini 
circus  in  the  Imperial  Palace  garden-;  in  the  sime  year. 


no  JAPAN    AT   THK   CROSS    ROADS 

later  he  n--i_;ned  oftice,  and  the  Cabinet  shortly  followed 
him.  Thu.-  eiid<-d  the  fmirth  attempt  to  re\  ise  the 
treaties  Th"  conciliatory  attitiulr  of  practical  states- 
m.m-hip  wa>  deteau-d  )jy  the  sentimental  inflexibility 
of  inujuiet  patriotism. 

ln<»uve'-  tenure  of  the  Foreign  <  Mtiee  was  longer 
than  thai  of  any  Minister  before  or  since.  It  co\ered 
a  period  of  considerable  TVMlessne-*  •  in  the  Far  Ka>t, 
and  oiu-re  1  to  the  Japanese  op[)or;nnitie>  tor  I'Xpan^ion 
\\ir.iii  a  le->  \\i->«'  and  more  a;^t;r(S-i\e  man  would  have 
a<  rpted.  In  japan  it-clt  there  \\as  not  during  the 
\\hok  jieiiod  any  -<  -rioiis  tension  with  any  one  of  the 
l'reat\  l'o\sei-.  uhilst  the>e  \'ears  were  marked  by  very 
di-:inet  step-,  on  the  p.uh  oi  [>ro^'res>.  l-\ir  thi^  Inouye 
\\.i-  lar^el\  n  -pon-iiiir.  It  i--  no  -li^lu  praise  to  be 
ai»l<-  to  -a\  of  ,i  Mim-t-  r  tha'.  l«»r  nine  \i-ars  he  reconciled 
tin-  iiiterr-t-  of  >ixteeii  \\V-tern  I'o\\er>.  reproenteil  by 
^:Xt<  t  ri  iTotcht  ity.  :li'»eral  '  li\er^,'  and  brought  an 
i  iririita!  State  ihroti.di  I!K-  labour^  ot  political  i  hild- 
l.inh  ai:d  \uth:n  nu-a-  urablc  distaiu  e  of  C'hri>tian 
adniini-traiioii. 

!•  oi  th-  taK'ii  •  oi  tlr-  iilth  attrinpt  Inouye  \\'as  in 
jiir;  n-  j,  .;i  -i;,'c.  M.ii(ji:i^  S.;i  inji,  acting  under  instruc- 
tio;i>  ti'oiii  <  'oun:  <  ikian.i,  \\  ho  uas  J^'orei;;;!  Minister 
in  ?ht  Kur-'di  Cabine!  i'i  l«S.'-:o.  nt-;M»ii.itcd.  and  actually 
:iii;:a!!rd.  v\  .th  Colin;  Ih-rb  ri  jii.niank.  a  diatt  re\  i>ion 
oi  :ln-  treaty  \s:t!i  (I.  rh:any.  I'nhajipily  1  lie  7'irtifs 
prein  iture!;,  juil'l:  !,  d  lii.-  'u  xt  of  t!.<-  proposed  re\i~ion, 
uhiili  \\  a  pla'M  a'l.  Inoti\eV  j.lan  ot  i»S,X'»-~.  Ito 
and  Inou\e.  \\lio  alter  la-  resignation  had  been  apjxnnted 
<  oa:n  ;!lor  to  th(-  Mikado,  he.nl'-d  the  oj)jm>ition  to  it, 
;!;••  lonner  .1-  bein.;  coinrar  to  the  n«  \\  (  'oiistr.ution. 


<-  '.!'  r    i     ia      n^-     own 


•  i.-  ;.,e  i  ..:...;  i  .  ;  j,.  .;  led  <  >  la  an.  i,  i  u:  Ma:  -uk.it  a  and 
,••:••,  ;h--  M  ii..  '.<  i>  ot  1-  in  an  e  ,n\<[  (  'onunanu  at  ion  , 

•id..  :;d    d'  ::  and'  d    a    <  oiin<  il    b'-loic    th"     Ihrom-. 

i.i  :•-,!  i;  ,  .:  ;  uliiay  ui.id  m.htiail  oi  (  'ctoiier  i  ^\\\ 
-.;•!.•;;  a  '.•  .  l  n  b<-lli;;  l<a-h<d  J'.eloi,  •  t!;e  adjou:ned 

•  Mi:  •   (oul.l   I).-    IK  Id  a   fan  iti'     1>\    n  mi--   of    Karo 


POLITICS  in 

had  blown  <  )kumu's  leg  oil  and  the  Cabinet  and  its 
revision  scheme  into  nothing. 

In  addition  to  the  personal  pique  that  Inouye  ma\ 
have  felt  over  (  >kuma's  draft  there  were  strong  political 
reasons  for  opposition.  The.  revision  of  the  treaties 
was  by  far  the  most  important  matter  then  before  the 
public,  and  had  been  made  a  strong  card  by  all  the 
political  parties  to  whom  the  cian  leaders  were  naturally 
opposed.  They  had  no  intention  of  allowing  Okuma, 
who  had  transferred  his  allegiance-  from  clan  to  party, 
to  attain  the  triumph  of  securing  revision.  ho.  Yama- 
gata,  and  Inouye  consequently  formed  a  cabal  against 
Okuma,  and  were  joined  by  Matsiikata,  a  strong  clans- 
man, and  Cioto  Shojiro,  a  passionate  nationalist,  who 
by  his  fiery  eloquence  \vas  enabled  to  carry  with  him 
the  mass  of  the  people.  The  smashing  of  the  Oerman 
treaty  was  the  result,  but  as  important  to  the  clansmen 
was  the  snatching  of  what  would  have  been  an  enormous 
victory  from  the  hands  of  the  patty  politicians. 

In  the  second  Ito  Cabinet,  which  made  and  con- 
ducted the  war  with  China,  Inouye  occupied  the  Ministry 
for  Home  Affairs,  and  temporarily  those  of  Minister 
President  and  Minister  of  Finance.  Me  was  responsible 
for  and  conducted  the  lighting  Budget  of  1893,  which 
was  only  compromised  between  the  Ministry  and  the 
Diet  by  the  personal  intervention  ot  the  Kmperor.  He 
resigned  office  in  October,  1094,  to  become  Minister 
and  Adviser  to  Korea  during  the  war.  His  regime  a: 
Seoul  was  completely  successful,  for,  following  the  policy 
which  he  had  laid  down  when  Foreign  Minister,  and 
which  had  guided  him  in  1880,  he  did  everything' 
possible  to  conciliate  the  Koreans,  thus  imposing  an 
effective  though  galling  restraint  both  on  the:  anti- 
[apanese  intrigues  ol  the  Oueen's  party  and  on  the 
anti-Korean  one-  ot  an  important  band  of  miiit.irisi 
adventurers,  who,  .siibsidi/ed  by  extremists  in  Japan. 
spent  their  whole  energies  in  trying  to  create  trouble 
between  the  two  countries. 

The   recall  of    Inuuvc  in    i8<)^    \\.\-\    disastrous    results. 


M2     JAPAN  AT  THE  CROSS  ROADS 

Ho>hi  Torn  and  okamoto  Ryonosukc  were  respectively 
political  and  military  Advisers  to  Korea,  the  one 
notorious  for  his  bludgeon  politics,  the  other  equally 
known  a-  .1  ruffian  of  the  worst  character  and  the  tool 
of  the  militarist  party  in  Tokyo.  The  re.su It  was  in- 
evitable. Miura,  th:-  new  envoy,  acting  under  higher 
instructions,  shut  his  eyes  to  their  intrigues,  and  within 
a  few  weeks  of  his  appointment  the  Oueen  of  Korea, 
with  a  number  of  her  ladies  and  the  Minister  of  her 
Household,  were  horribly  murdered.  It  is  evidence  of 
the  high  hand  with  which  the  military  party  carried 
matters  in  Japan  after  the  war  that  the  officers,  one 
of  whom  was  (ieneral  Haion  Kusunose  (Minister  of 
War  in  19141,  were  found  not  guilty,  inasmuch  as 
they  had  only  followed  the  instructions  of  the  Minister, 
whilst  the  Minister  was  found  not  guilty,  inasmuch  as 
though  he  had  admittedly  planned  the  murder  of  the 
(.Hieen  In-  had  not  himself  murdered  her  (Judgment  of 
Hiroshima  C.'hiho  Saibancho,  January  25,  1916  ;  Judg- 
ment of  C'ourt  Martial  at  Hiroshima,  January  21,  1910). 
It  may  be  noted  that  Inoiiye  on  leaving  Korea  had 
•wrongly  condemned  the  intrigues  of  these  ronin  and 
rascals,  which  bad  cau->ed  him  a  good  deal  of  trouble, 
and  predicted  some  di.-a>ter  unless  their  activities  were 
curtailed.  Alter  ihe  farce  of  the  trials  he  expressed 
linn-ell  very  strongly  <  >n  the  matter  in  a  memorial  to 
the  ('abiiiet.  The  net  results  of  the  murder  were  to 
de-troy  th'-  whole  of  hi-,  work  in  Korea  since  1878, 
and  to  give  Ku-sia  an  opportunity,  of  \\hich  she  sjx-edily 
a\  ailed  herself,  of  replacing  Japanese  influence  at  the 
Korean  ('oiirt. 

In  tin-  third  Ito  Mini-try,  uhen  Japan  was  suffering 
under  the  (oll.ipM-  of  the  ('hinese  Indemnity  boom, 
Inotr.e  v,as  (ailed  to  tal;e  the  Ministry  of  l-'niaiice. 
When  ihc  ( 'abinet  fell  before  a  coalition  of  tin1  parties 
he  determined  to  r<ti;e  from  public  attait-.  t'nlike 
lii,  r  ontemjH iraries,  Yan;a;rata,  Ito,  Mat-.ukata,  Okuma, 
.uid  <)\am.i.  he  has  -.-teadily  declined  otii<  e  .since. 

iMiinc.'     the    pr.    MI'     (  i  ntury     a    gre.it    ileal     has    been 


rouTics  113 

heard  of  the  '  KIder  Statesmen  '  of  Japan.  I  hi-  <  icnro 
(Council,  su^cs  i<-d  by  Ili>  at  th-  <  Kaka  conference  in 
i<">74  to  provide  a  continuity  of  policy  and  the  sepa- 
ration of  the  advi.-ory  from  the  executive,  consists  of 
personal  advisers  of  the  Kmperor,  and  is  drawn  from 
the  surviving  statesmen  of  Mciji  who  have  been  respon- 
sihle,  for  the  building  of  modern  Japan.  It  has  no 
position  under  the  Constitution.  iMirin;.;  the  last  few 
years  its  members  have  been  Yama^ata,  ho,  Inonye, 
Matsukaia,  S  ijonji  and  <  )kuma  beiiu;  ex<  luded  until 
this  year  owin;;'  to  then-  connection  with  party  politic-,. 
It  was  in  the  Cienro  Council  that  Inouye  since  i.So,.S 
made  his  influence  most  felt,  and  this  because  of  his 
own  characteristics  and  by  reason  of  the  composition 
of  the.  Council.  The  three  principal  members  were 
Yamai;a(a,  Inouye,  and  Ito.  ( )yama  was  a  £Ood-natured, 
affable  authority  on  military  alTairs,  and  declined,  except 
on  tile  rarest  occasions,  to  ;.;o  outride  tiK:in.  Matsiika'a 
is  a  financier,  responsible  for  the  establishment  of  Japan 
on  a  t-M>!d  basis,  and  his  advice  is  respected  on  all 
monetary  matters  and  as  the  adherent  of  the  Satsuma 
(Navy  )clan.  Yama;j,ata,  Inouye,  and  (to  are  all  Choshu 
men,  and  Inouye  \vas  undoubtedly  the  most  j)owerful  of 
the  three.  Between  Yama-ata  and  Ito  there  was  always 
bail  feeling.  The  former  is  a  bureaucrat,  the  direct 
product  ol  feudal  times,  who  regards  the  people-  as 
a  regiment  to  be  drilled  and  the  ari-tocrats  as  the  only 
nil  in  v,"  class.  Himself  of  <;ood  birth,  an  hereditary 
aristocrat,  he  stron:;i\-  di.-liked  Ito  as  a  man  of  common 
origin  with  more  cuininL;'  than  brains  and  less  manners 
than  ambition.  So  lon;_;'  as  I;o  a^r<  ed  to  [)lay  the 
clan  i;'ame  so  lon^  he  could  endure  him,  but  directly 
Ito  threw  over  the  cians  tor  (he  parties  his  fate  \va.s 
sealed.  (That  Ko  rose  to  the  jjiisiti-m  he  did  was 
partly  due  to  his  own  ability  and  opportunities,  partly 
to  the  Imperial  favour,  but  al-o  to  <L  lari^e  extent  thanks 
to  Inouye's  intelligence  and  pcrsor.alky.  i 

J>etween   \'ama;.;'ata   and    Ito    sto:_Kl   the  sui>ject   of   this 
sketch,    a    man    of    j;\>od    birth,   of    suj)en'or    abilities    to 

8 


H4  J.M'AN    AT    THK    CROSS    ROADS 

either,  .in«l  of  ^reat  diplomatic  adroitiu--^.  In  the 
( ii-nro.  so  lon;^  a-  I  to  \va>  a  member,  1  homes  role 
\va<  thai  of  peacemaker  between  the  two. 

Inouye'-    principal    characteristic    ua>    unas>ertiveness. 

Although  Mai-ukata  figure.-,  i,ir  more  in  the  public  eye 
a-  the  creator  of  the  financial  Jap. in  of  to-day,  it  ua:- 
M. 110,1:1-.  inoiiye  \\lio  laid  the  foundations  on  which  M.it- 
-ukata  built  and  v.  ho  was  the  ultimate  referee  on  .i!l 
financial  mailer-,  and  eonseijiu  ntly  on  all  n,i\.d  and 
military  ina'ter-  "the  lornier  stale-man  !->  a  depart- 
melltal  expert,  the  laiter  ,1  deCI-he  jlld.'.e." 
ho  :;ot  and  took  the  credit  of  the  (.'oiivent  ion  oi  Tientsin, 
i;  \\a-  I nome  \vho  M-nt  him  and  draft*  d  ln^  m^tnic- 
tion-.  'I'lioti:Ji  Yama-aia  i>  pr.ii-ed  ("..r  the  >y-tein  ol 
1'ical  admini-uaii''!!,  n  v..t-  hn.uxc  \\ho  initiated  the 
idea  and  -ent  him  io  l.ur«ij)i  .  II  Inoirve'^  policy  had 
In -en  pur-U' d  in  Korea  alter  hi-  ricall  in  iS«>5  theii 
v.ould  ne\er  ha\c  heeii  an>  ku>so- Japancx.-  \\'ai,  lor 
th''  jiolicy  of  <  <  iti<  iliat  .on  and  pea.  «'lal  ]'«-net  rat  ion  ol 
uhuh  lie  u'a-  the  advo(  ate  would  ha\e  liound  Korea  to 
Japan  by  the  bond-  ot  commerce  and  L;ooduill.  It 
ua-  for  tin-  rta-on  thai  he  di^appnned  ot  th'-  An^!<>- 
|apane-e  Alhanci  ,  and  i:  \\a>  a'  IIH  in-ti;',.i!  ion  that 
Ito  ueii-  to  St.  1'et' -rdiur  ;  in  I  oo  j  to  negotiate  an 
a^reem-  nt  v.  !th  l\n  sia.  Ib  li-  id  lliat  tin-  Alliance  u  a 
i  diieet  ihii-at  to  Kn--ia,  and  tlia'.  it  a  \\  ar  iollo\\<-<!  it 
uould  IIII]M)  c  o!i  .iii  even  \  iciorioii>  Japan  an  alnio  t 
in  iij>jxiitable  Imani  :al  burihn.  an  eslini.ite  \sln.li  ha 
pi  1 1\  i-d  \  i-ry  f  orrect . 

Ill-      la    k      111      th        (  .    Ill"      <  "oil!  nil        in<  e      the      \\.u       ha 
n.ainl\      In  en      ih-     ri  -'  ri    !  i  on      .>!      tin-     d'  -n  land-     <  'I      t  he 
1 1 1 1 , 1!   .  1  1  -;     1.1 1  !  ion     \\  It  III!  I     I'e.i    oll.li  lie     lllli:!  -  .        A-    lie       l«  iod 


li  \-..i  h"  the  builer  b  tue.-n  \.iiii.i.  .ita  and  h;-,  m-i-teiM 
demand  I'  n  nev.  d;\  i  i  >;i  <  . c  id  Mi:  nkata  u  ::  ii  hi  no 
!•  e\p  n  -!\  e  ind1  ;:'  •  I1  'i  i.e\\  hip  . 

N  e  -,  i  - 1    1  i  I : . ;    •  1 1    .'•  1  r  i    '     :     i  '       I  i  >  1 1 1 ,    1  •<•    u  a      '  1 1      d    i  i  •  I  r  r 
I.!'  'rjj    i;:   iii.i!.i:i      ami    ii   •    •'-.!         '   ab:ne;    .       \\  IM  ;.    i  'l.inna 
ir,    '!;•       add'  n    d-  a'll->    ol    .S  i;     •>.   '  IK;I!)''.   .m<l    l\liio    b.  *  .line 


rouTio  115 

the  central  figure  of  Japanese  politic,  and  sought  to 
crush  tin-  famous  Satsuma  -  Choshu  coalition  by  re- 
placing its  elements  \\ith  member^  of  the  Liberal  party, 
it  was  Inouye  uho  manipulated  the  wires  \\hich  pulled 
him  down.  lie  investigated  the  Hokkaido  Reservation 
scandal  and  discreetly  u.-^ed  it  against  the  Ministry, 
though  he  left  to  ho  the  care  of  the  puMic  agitation 
and  to  Matsukata  some  year-,  after  the  expulsion  of 
( )kuma  from  the  Privy  Council.  Thirty-three  years 
Liter  (10141  it  was  Inouye  u  ho  called  (  )kuma  back 
to  oilier  to  form  a  Choshu  cum  Doshikai  Ministry. 

\\'hen  the  veteran--  of  Meiji  decided  to  become  itikyo 
and  to  leave  to  younger  men  the  actual  administration 
whilst  they  Idled  the  role  of  advisers  behind  the  screen, 
it  was  Inouye  who  suggested  thi-.  solution  of  the  political 
stalemate,  and  uho  belie\ed  that  by  this  removal  of 
both  ho  and  Yamagata  I  rom  public  lift1  a  satisfactory 
ending  of  the  feud  between  them  would  be  attained. 
Yamagata's  approval  was  obtained  by  the  nomination 
of  Katsura  to  the  Premiership.  ho  agreed  because 
he  thought  that  he  recognized  Katsura  as  a  bureaucrat 
who  would  fall  foul  of  the  parties  and  by  a  defeat  in 
the  Diet  necessitate  his  own  recall  to  office.  In  leading 
the  attack  from  out>ide  the  House  ho  committed  political 
hari-luri,  for  Katsura  dissolved  the  Diet  and  insisted 
on  ho  being  shelved  in  the  Privy  Council,  his  place 
as  leader  of  the  Seiyukwai  being  taken  by  Marquis 
Saionji.  Inoitxe,  both  tor  c'an  and  family  reasons,  in 
addition  to  hi-^  \icws  as  a  stale-man,  could  not  support 
ho  in  his  attacks  on  Katsura.  ^n  July  12.  1903,  when 
he  re-tired  from  politic^  to  lake  Saionji's  place  as  Pre-i- 
dent  of  the  Pri\y  Coiuicil,  ho  fell,  and  thereafter  was 
of  little  account  in  the  affairs  of  the  nation.  As  a 
matter  of  courtesy  or  owing  to  Imperial  favour  his 
advice  "was  asked,  but  almost  as  regularly  unheeded. 

No  account  of  the  late  Marquis  should  omit  a 
reference  to  his  matrimonial  alliances,  \\hich  have  played 
a  great  part  in  the  hi-tory  of  modern  Japan.  In  countries 
where  the  feudal  svstem  is  or  has  been  the  \vonien 


u6  JAPAN    AT    THE    CROSS    ROADS 

of  the  aristocratic  classes  are  often  u-eft:l  anil  \alu- 
ublc  though  pa-~ive  as  Mrs  of  their  familie-.  Through- 
out  the  ages  woman  has  been  a  pawn  to  advance  the 
ambition-  and  intere>t-  of  the  males.  Marriage  alhanee- 
often  w.ll  give  the  key  to  the  domination  ot  elans  and 
faction-,  in  Japan  as  in  England. 

A  clan-man  of  Chos'nu,  Inouyc  strengthened  his  ]x>-i- 
ti'»n  h\  marriage  with  a  daughter  of  Nitta  Tadasama, 
a  leading  (Ia:niyo  of  Cho-hn.  llis  brother-in-law,  the 
pre-ent  \  !-count  Nitta,  marri: d  Inoko,  -i-t>  r  of  Yi-count 
Mori,  a  -c.on  oi  th"  Prince-  Mori,  the  Lord-  of  Cho-hu. 
'1  he  decea-ed's  state.-man's  heir  i-  hU  neplu  w.  Inouye 
Katstmosuke,  lately  Japane-r  Amba--ador  in  London, 
M>n  ol  the  Marquis's  e!d<-r  brother  Ikutaro,  and  married 
to  the  lat"  Manjuis's  daughter.  Im-uye  Kat-nnosuke  i> 
blood  brother  of  I'-Miee  ho  Hiroknni,  \'ne-()rand 
Chamberlain,  v.ho  married  the  late  Prince  Ito's  daughter 
and  wa-  adoj>ted  ;LS  his  -on  and  heir.  Ilaroii  Keiroku 
T-ud/uki,  th"  J'rivy  (.'ounciilor,  formerly  in  the  I-'oreign 
(  M;ice,  and  well  known  as  the  late  Prune  Ito's  diplo- 
matic a-.-istaw  on  hi^  journey.-,  abroad,  i>  married  to 
Mit-nko,  -ister  of  the  Marchion«--,s  Inouye.  The  late 
Pnnce  Kat-ura  inarned  a.-,  hi^  .-eeond  \vite  Kana,  .i'!op!ed 
daughter  ol  Ma!'(ji:;>  Inou\e,  uhil^t  hin  son  and  heir 
by  hi-  lir.-'.  iii.irriage,  \"oi<  hi,  married  the  Manjui-': 
men-,  T  i,  <1  .iu  ;hter  of  the  Vi-eonnt  Nitta.  The  ion- 
iieetion  between  th-1  K.it  ura  and  Inouye  family  goes 
even  t.irh'-r,  1  r  hioir.e  Kat-uno-uke's  h'-ir  and  -on 
by  adojri'in,  Sa'»uro,  i-  blood  >oa  ot  the  late  Prince 
KatMira  by  In-  :ir-t  rnarriag'e..  i'.aron  ho  P>'inkn  In, 
le  ;it  iTiii/'-i  1  -on  (  f  t!i>-  1  it'-  l'r:;ie.-  I  to,  marri'-d  a  datighti  i 
of  th"  lite  Princ  •  I\a!  -tira.  A  connection  iie;\Mt-n 
Inon\i-  .in  1  ;,tri\  jo!;:;'  j,  -^cen  r;ot  only  in  th  I'o 
relation-hip  :ni:  ;n  the  marriage  of  Ii.ua  \\<  i.  leader 
d  tli-  Sriv.ikwai  ai!«i  •  \-Mim  t<  r  of  llon.e  Allait-. 
to  the  d. .';.;!. 'e;  o!  I'M-  Ma^hion  ^  hv  h  -r  in  T  mariiag.e 
\\ith  the  !aT  Mi  N'.ii.ai,  a.  \\'-\l  a-  in  the  adoption 
I-Y  Marijili  Sa:  'iin  "1  a  Mor;  .r  h;-  h'-ir.  and  the  •  ngage- 

!..     n'       ot       till         llf   i!        b)       the      late      PlliM'1      Kai.UM      .1.      lll- 

-'-r  onal    •-«•<  retar. 


POLITICS  117 

The  above  by  no  means  represents  the  full  extent 
of  the  alliances  and  connections  established  by  the  late 
Marquis  through  his  family,  but  it  will  give  some  slight 
idea  of  the  strings  which  wen;  ] allied  from  his  mansion 
in  Axabu,  and  ca-t  some  light  on  the  infinite  intricacies 
of  Japanese  jxilitics. 

A  diplomat  of  rare  foresight  and  ability,  a  financier 
of  marked  capacity  and  a  statesman  of  the  highest 
order,  the  death  of  Inouye  Kaoru  in  1915  was  a  loss 
which  Japan  could  ill  allord.  No  word  can  better  describe 

•*t       i 

the  late  Marquis  than  '  judgmatical,'  if  one  may  coin 
it.  lie  was  unrivalled  at  weighing  the  pros  and  cons 
of  a  question,  and  it  was  rarely  that  his  instinct  did  not 
lead  him  to  a  safe  <'uul  honourable  compromise.  He 
had  in  a  high  degree  that  art  of  using  others  which 
was  so  marked  a  feature  of  Japanese  political  life  in 
the  last  century.  He  has  been  described  as  being  all 
head  and  no  heart.  This  was  true  in  that  he  had  few 
enthusiasms  except  Japan. 

The  most  brilliant  of  the  brilliant  Sat-cho  combina- 
tion, no  other  member  of  it  approached  him  in  sacrifice 
of  personal  pride  and  ambition  to  the  interests  of  country, 
party,  and  people,  and  it  is  unlikely  that  any  of  the 
present  statesmen  of  Japan  will  seriously  rival  his 
reputation. 

The  I  to  adherents  now  occupy  a  far  smaller  position 
in  the  affairs  of  State  than  was  to  have  been  expected 
trom  their  brilliant  start.  Viscount  Suyematsu,  ex- 
Minister  for  Home  Affairs,  is  a  Privy  Councillor,  but 
has  entirely  dropped  out  of  politics,  and  is  engaged  on 
translating"  Roman  Law.  He  is  one  of  the  most  accom- 
plished scholars  in  Japan  and  a  writer  of  uta  of  excep- 
tional merit.  Mr.  llenshiro  Ni^hi  has  never  risen  above 
a  Secretaryship  in  the  Diplomatic  Service.  These-  two 
men  were  sons-in-law  of  the  Prince,  but  neither  Viscoum 
I  to  Miyoji  nor  Viscount  Kaiieko.  two  of  his  principal 
adherents,  have  retained  any  trace  of  the  political  prestige 
which  accrued  to  them  beiore  hi-,  assassination.  Marquis 
Inouve  remained  therefore  the  1m:  >  of  the  Choshu  anti- 


nS  JAl'AN    AT    T11K    CROSS    ROADS 

Yama^ata  fait  ton.  a  faction  whi>  h  hi-  ae<  epted  a  ba-i:in.l 
fonn  nf  npre-cntat  P.  •  v  >\  e: ;  ment  bv  it-.  <///<•'  uith 
the  Sei\ukwai.  'J'h.it  e\en'.  \'.a-  tit  a  <  <  >n  idei  able 
extent  made  po--ib!e  jiy  tin-  la:m'y  connection  of  Mr. 
llara  Kei  uith  Maicpi  Ino'i-.e,  he  lu\in-  mari;ed  die 
daughter  <>t  th'-  Ma:  '<  h  <  me  .->  b\  her  nr-t  manna. ;e  uith 
the  late  Mr.  Nakai.  I'he  (  1  •-.  eni'-  --  <  it  I'iincc  Yama,;aia 
in  LM-ttniL;  Kat-nra  a;  [x>;n'.<-d  a-  Trenn-  •  eati  now  1>- • 
pioptils  appreciated.  \\V  bin;.,  t<»  nt'.in  die  pi.v.er  n 
ln>  oun  hand-,  and  at  all  e.ent-  th1-  apji-araiiic  « >f  non 
i  i  imp  lianre,  he  nominate  1  a  man  iiotonoM-l)  o;  !n-  vieu-., 
\\ho  by  In-,  family  «  orille'  :  j. .;;  -  \'.  lih  Ii'ouye  and  It'"  \\a-- 
able  to  eontiol  the  ha'ehd  I  )!••;.  Ka'-ura,  t'lank--  to 
lnoti\  e  and  I  laia,  earned  on!  the  plan  "\a«  tly  a  -  piopn-ed. 
but  "ti  ln>  own  a  e(,u?it  ueiu  Inrlher  and  bioa_.dll  die 
ManjUi-.  Sa:'>!i|i,  u  ho  hid  -uci  ceded  ho  a-  h' ad  o|  the 
S'-i-su-kuai.  into  the  i  in  le.  Saionji  adopted  a-  In-  hen 
the  \otin;.;er  broth  -r  oi  I'nne.  MOM.  [!)••  a'l  to.  ta'ie  head 
o|  <  ho-hn.  !\a'  nr..  tools  t|a-  !  .pn  d  -on  a-  in-  Trp-ate 
Set  ri-tary.  beeau-.1  he  Irm  '•!)  had  in  t-'.ie'al  d  t  \  •-  b'-c!i 
a  retain-  r  oi  di  •  Lord  ot  (  'ho  hn.  1  lierealte:  tlr  p'aii  \sa 

iin|)l'.  Ill'  S  i  .  n!.  u  .1 1,  ui;h  hi"ii\e  a-  a  pix<>t.  \\  a  - 
tied  to  Kat  -nra  and  Saionji.  r  a''dle  oi  \\hi.li  wa- 
I  'i i  mi' T.  It  hi-  [irovc.  1  ;li''  n  10  t  p  rii<  imi  riihii  in  e 
in  mod'  rn  |  a  pan  .  \\  h  i «  \  ani.i  at  a  ue-'i  u  i  o- ,  \\a  -  in 
laihir.;  to  pel.  er.i-  ili.it  |\  i :  uia  \\.i-  -o  \\ell  >  innei  le.| 
and  -n  i  apable  that  h-  i  on'  1  do  uitlnra!  In-  aid.  and 
fur  tin  r.  that  h-  wa  o  am'  >  '  :•  >'i  di  i'  ii  •  \:  •  >  d  1  do  o. 

I  h'  n    he    icali       1    the   1 1  nth    o)    in ••    I  i;    m  r.  in-  .   >•/'// 

ni'i  /:/  f\iir<t  i  <  h  r:t,   '  I  ,\  e.  i  di     ;  >o  ,k  ii. 

Id!      Iroin    the   tree.' 

|n   ;    .,      (   IP     hn    i  o! 
th'    Arm  . .   ih     '   > ''«'  \         t'i      '    i .  • :   S>  •  \  :•  •  ,   a1.  I    i  .d  ,<  .r  io  ,. 

I  n,  m<  .-.  and   Indn  tri-          I;    :!i--  f,o  !  ,!•.->   •          .  i,.  u 
th    .    h  i\.-    Lr    1.    (•  !'    th.?   p:  -\    !•• 

a:,    •  x'.ni    in  !      I    t'   r    in     .  ,i  :.  rii      la  i    ..I    'he 


POLITICS  119 

for  ilic  establishment  of  a  hank,  which,  in  capital,  manage - 
nictit,  and  object-,  should  !»•  exclusively  representative 
of  Satsiima. 

Marquis  Ma!  -ukata  is  the  pivot  of  the  clan  matrimonial 
ventures,  and  as  he  is  a  man  \vith  a  quiverful,  he  i-, 
well  fitted  for  the  position.  A  photograph  taken  two 
years  av,o  showed  the  veteran  statesman  surrounded  by 
his  family  o!  the  first  and  ^eeond  generations,  eighty- 
four  in  number.  A  Tokyo  story  ha-,  it  that  on  one  occasion 
the  late  Kmperor  asked  the  Marquis  how  many  children 
he  had,  to  which  the  solemn  but  stereotyped  response 
to  all  Imperial  inquiries  came,  "  Your  Majesty,  I  will 
have  strict  invent  Ration  made  ! 

Iwao  Matsukala,  the  Marquis's  heir  is  Vice-President 
of  the  i  51)1  liank,  and  married  the  aunt  of  Haron 
Nagayo. 

1 1  is  second  SOD,  Shosaku,  holds  hi^h  rank  in  the 
diplomatic  service,  and  married  a  daughter  ot  the  !a!e 
llaron  Iwa/aki,  of  the  Mitsii  P.ishi.  The  third  son, 
Koejro  (the  President  of  the  Kawasaki  Dockyard). 
married  a  daughter  of  Viscount  Kuki,  Privy  Councillor. 
The  fourth,  Masao,  is  a  Director  of  the  Naniwa  Hank, 
and  is  married  to  a  daughter  of  Admiral  Yauara.  The 
fifth,  <  Hohiko,  Hirector  of  the  Japan  Oil  Company,  is 
married  to  a  daughter  of  Admiral  Court  Yamamoto, 
Masukama,  the  .-ixth  son,  js  Pre-ident  of  the  Imperial 
Sut;ar  ('ompaiiy,  and  married  to  a  daughter  of  Mr. 
Arai,  the  banki-r,  whilst  \'ochixuk<>,  the  seventh,  is  a 
head  ol  department  in  th  •  Hank  of  Japan,  and  married 
the  daughter  of  Viscount  inouye  Ma-am.  ()]•.(>  daughter 
is  married  lo  Mr.  l\a\\akami.  Hiri-i-ior  of  the  ll\j)»»ihec 
l>ank,  anollier  to  Mr.  Matsumoto,  brother  ot  Admiral 
Matsnmoio.  an<l  a  :hird  to  Mr.  Ilorikoshi  the  silk 
magnate. 

If  wt-  iollow  out  some  of  the  matrimonial  conned  ions 
thus  made  we  shall  find  a  very  complete  control  of  the 
Navy  by  Sat-uma.  For  example,  the  Iwa/akis,  the 
Yicker-  of  Japan,  are  linked  up  by  a  double  'marriage, 
that  ot  Sho,.iku  Matsukata  reterred  to  al)o\e,  and  by 


120  JAPAN    AT   TIIK    CROSS    ROADS 

the  inarna^t •-  ot  Yukik<>,  aunt  ot  tin-  prvM-nt  head>  of 
the  firm.  to  tin-  late  Count  Sho-jro.  a  To-.i  man,  but 
identified  uith  Sat-uma  in;eiv~i-.  af:er  the  fall  of  the 
Sut-Cho-IIi-To  <  omi'inat.o:;  1:1  i  S" ;,.  ar,d  of  hi-  daughter, 
Saiiai,  to  tin-  late  liaroii  Yano-uke  I\va/aki,  a  C.IM-  of 
an  line!--  marrying  hi-  o\v;i  m  v.  The  late  Count  Coto'^ 
daucjKer  married  the  Lit ••  I!aro:i  Xa^ayo,  \\hox-  daughter 
married  Iwao  Mat-ukata.  it  uv  turn  to  th'1  other  ieafl- 
ii:;.;  Sat-unia  (imro,  ('oun:  Yarnainoto.  \ve  lirid  a  similar 
(our-i.-  of  ii"\-c!o|,:nrnt  and  i-nxclopnu-nt.  Iii->  «>i\  and 
heir,  a  naval  o nicer,  ha-  married  into  th.'  rich  1 1  irai  laiiu!\ . 
(  >;;e  il.iu^htrr,  as  we  !ia\'e  st-di,  lia~.  i»e,-n  allied  to  the 
Mat-ukatas,  another  married  ('ijitain  TakaraSe.  who  lia^ 
-iin;e  ri>en  to  he  \'i>  e-. \diniia  1  and  \'in— Minister  ol 
Marine.  \'et  another  daughter  married  Lieutenant  Kaini- 
rnura,  adopted  ^on  ot  Admiral  Kaminiura,  and  xoun^i-r 

on  of  the  late  Admral  Mar«jui--  Judo  Sai;;o.  It  i-> 
the  ^aine  \\-itli  the  Kaiia\ama  and  Xire  lamihe^.  ('ount 
Kab.r.'ama  married  an  aunt  »t  Conn!  Yamamoto  ;  hi^ 

on,  a  director  ol  tip'  Iloki.ailo  I'an!;-».  married  a  M-ter 
of  ('cm:.!  Kauamura.  Mi'1  da.i.  hn-r  ot  tu  •  late  \'i->(<mnt 
Xi;e  married  A  liniral  liaio.n  Sar.o,  M:ni-:er  ot  til  •  Xa\y 
from  I  •  v ':  to  1914.  \\<-  •  e.  therefore,  thai  'he  tamilie. 
of  ill'-  three  ton.;  1-r-,  til  tiie  [aj'.in  -e  Xa\'y,  Xire,  Sai,i;o. 
and  Kalia;.  am  i.  ha'.e  retained  ri:J.t  dov,;i  to  Ia~t  year 
a  t  omplete  (dnti'ol  ot  tlia*.  d"pai'lmen:.  In  addition  they 
Ka\e  l.iou  ,h;  v.:';;;.;  t'i"  or'-i;  oi  t:i -i:  in;lu  •:!<<•  tin-  t\so 
principal  do.  k'/ai  1  (on  <•::,•.  the  Mi!-;:  lii  h;  and  Kaua 
-a!:i,  and  al-o  ni/tain-- 1  a  linger  ia  many  o!  the  Iradiii-^ 
tmam  a!  in.'imtion-  in  the  lountiv.  h  'he  nicti.o  U  ot 

la;. m   m     are     pro; .    :  '..      \\\<  ',••}    :>,  »d,     ilien     t!,.  :e     v.  i '.] 
no   iliiii<  ult  v    in    i  oj, ip:  eh'-n-  iin;     the    u  h  .  -    and    A  h   i  e|oi >  , 
'.)    ;h'     jo't'-n   a  ::m  ,i  :ra'.on    ;.  •,:    one,    <  >'    ilv     o-,ni:r>    !>;;; 
ot     man'.'    o!     .;      nio  t     pro  mni-nt     linan    .1!     in-trn'ion   . 

I  he  ai  •  :den!  oi  [,;i  :h  i  :."  •  jUal  '.:<..':  i:\  t  >i  a  iiank 
inar.a,  "P  or  to:  a':v  oiii  •:  p  i  i'lon  •  >l  :  _  >:i  ;  'i! .{-.  .  a'cj 

d'lro-i;  h     lii'h-  -t  .     :'i  •     pn:.    !  ,ti       •   .n  I  :i  I     have 

r    ;!  'id    i-;o  ;  1 .  :-vi:   ;:n, a    •  !,c      '   '  o  !  n    ate    je.  ; 

a       ;  lli't     .    '  in'     '  it       i. at  ion    hi       l.ol     da!    d      o    j.;  •  \:,  \    I  hi 


POLITICS  121 

authorities  have  not  da  ml  to  i^rant  tin;  fullest  investi- 
gation.1 

Mar(|iiis  Malsukata  has,  considering  the  important  posts 
which  he  has  tilled,  concerned  himself  hut  little  with 
the  question  of  representative  government.  A  typical 
bureaucrat,  he  opjx)sed  any  concession.-,  towards  consti- 
tutionalism  :  In-  wa--  responsible  for  the  dismissal  of 
( )kuma  from  the  Privy  ("ouncil  in  !<>'oi,  because  of  his 
connection  with  the  Pro;;res>ivc  j)arty.  Later,  however, 
he  imitated  I  to  in  making  a  virtue  of  necessity,  and 
he  has  shown  himsell  evn  more  alienable  (()  the  j)oj>ular 
will,  owino"  to  the  inlluence  of  his  family,  who  are  very 
much  closer  in  touch  with  popular  feeling  than  is  he. 

In  i  01  i,  when  1  arrived  in  Japan,  the  second  Katsura 
Mini-try  had  ju^t  re-i^nril,  and  Marquis  Saionji  had 
taken  office  for  the  second  time.  Of  that  administration 
ot  Prince  Katsura,  which  had  closed  in  September,  I 
had  no  experience,  but  by  all  account^  it  will  be  re- 
membered in  Japan  as  one  ot  the  most  autocratic'  which 
the  country  ever  suffered.  It  had  come  into  power; 
ostensibly  on  account  of  the  miserable-  financial  results 
of  the  first  Saionji  Cabinet  :  but,  as  Count  llayashi 
points  out,  Prince  Katsura  and  the  (ienro  from  behind! 
the  curtain  were  really  responsible  for  the  IJud^et  and 
its  failure,  and  the  real  cause  ot  the  change  was  Katsura's 
impatience  at  inaction  and  Yama^ata's  dislike  of  Saionji. 
The  Katsura  Cabinet  which  followed  consi>tcd  of  Prince 
Katsura  and  some  others.  JJeyond  the  Premier  there  were 
no  men  of  strength  and  independence  in  it,  and  if  there 
had  been  they  would  soon  have  left  it.  In  Japan 
Ministers  are  not  responsible  to  Parliament,  but  only 

1  For  example,  the  I-'1  ;rd  of  Ar.dil  in  H)I2  repelled  that  the  \V;u 
Department  i;.tv  been  .,u;l;y  (if  il.irty  \\\'^  c  L-CS  u!  m;>.ippriipriatiiin  ot 
inonev.  In  ci^iit  cf  llit-M1  ca-es  ir.  .  ie\  v:is  .i-p-plieel  to  purpo.-es  not 
^anctii'ncd  bv  te.e  1 'iet  :  in  i(  :ir  eti.er  C:IM.'S  tin-  t>ii:ei..is  rcspcinsihlc 
h.id  obtaii'ud  the  I'.i'Xies  b\-  t.ilsc  p1.  etuiice^  :  in  >eve;!;eeii  case> 
contracts  h.id  'nee1.'.  a',K';;i''i  \vit,i.nit  le.uier  contr.irx  to  t!:>'  Ihul^ct  ; 
in  t\vo  cast •>  lull  p.^vnieni  li;ui  i xeii  ni.ule  tor  (ielicieiit  wi.'i'k  ;  and  one 
case  the  Board  de>cribes  ;i^  iir  ^^iy  improper  use  of  pi-bi;c  fund;.. 


£22  JAPAN    AT    TIIK   CROSS    ROADS 

to  the  Premier,  who  is  answerable  to  tin-  Mikado.  As 
a  con-etjuence,  under  Katsura  Ministers  were  nothing 
belter  than  senior  clerks  or  departmental  managers.  Thai 
Japan  -o  enormously  increased  her  position  and  pre-tu;c 
in  th'-  \\orld  between  1001  and  1911  is  almost  entirely 
due  to  him,  and  to  the  support  he  received  iroin  the  late 
Kmperor  and  the  (  imro.  and  is.  tribute  to  his  remarkable 
energy,  capacity,  and  >Hf— sufficiency.  In  neither  hi^ 
lir-t  nor  his  M-cond  ('abinet  had  he  any  outstanding 
figure  whoM-  will  mi.dn  cla-di  with  hi-,  or  u  hose  prineiples 
and  ]  roclivities  mi^ht  wield  a  -trover  influence  than  hi--. 
Kven  Koinura.  Japan'- most  brilliant  diplomatist.  Terauehi, 
her  Kitchener,  and  Yamamoto,  her  1  i-her.  worked 
entirely  under  th  •  order-  of  a  Premier,  who  was  himself 
i  apable  ot  holding  any  portfolio,  and  did  actually  held 
tho-e  of  the  Mini-trie-  of  Home  Aifairs,  \\'ar.  l-"oreii;n 
.\ltair-,  !•  inanee.  and  Induration.  The  -eeond  adminis- 
tration of  thi-  ( -\traortlinar\-  man  wa>  noli'worihy  to  the 
woi'ld  at  lar;^e  tor  the  annexation  ot  Korea  and  the  exe- 
cution of  Kotokn.  the  MI-'  ailed  Soejali-t,  but  in  Jap. in 
it  uill  lon^  be  renie'nbercd  a-  a  nn!i!ar\'  de-j'oti-in  and 
a  financial  muddle.  To  maintain  clan  harmoiu  and 
national  |»re-ti;;e  a  wild  e\|ian-ion  in  armament-  \\a.> 
considered  nee  es-ary,  thou;.;h  the  remission  o!  some  ot 
tin-  national  bin'<len-  \\a^  urgent  to  allay  the  popular 
unnM.  Katsura  ru-h-'d  in  \\hejc  linaiiMer,  feared  to 
ip-ad.  and  him^-li  i«»ok  Mini  tr\  oi  I-'in  mce,  thouvji  he 
had  no  exp*-rienec  and  i>ni  ih'-  ha  'i-  -I  notion-  o| 
e«  onomi'  -  It  is  dii"  in  par'i  to  ;ii-  expenditure  on  the 
Isn---ian  \\'av.  !>ni  tar  more  to  hi^  ra  h  linani  lal  admiiii- 
tration  thai  fapan  ha-  -o  li'H"  credit  in  the  niai'kels 
abroad.  1  h-  tab'--  ot  n,a:  \  el'ou-,  bu'  hop  c\i  telil  ;'ol<l 
mine-,.  Ion;;  la!-  d  and  e.  rei  bill-,  foi<"l  conver-ion- 
ai'd  li'  ;  i:  irii;  pi  i'  e-,  |ii;  .  l:n;:  \s  th  Sj»-i  ;al  .\<  •  <  >M:t  . 
:  >  | .-  .  1 1  U  e  i  i  \  <  and  1 1 1  p  i  n  •  - ,  aip!  the  \\  i !  d  e  i  p  j .  i  n  1 1  vt  •  . 
!o  (orei-n  bon  !  hold,  i  \\  •  :  •  ail  pail  and  pn  >  !  ot  hi- 
IHI!'.  ..  and  <jni'kl\  i<  I'l'-d  the  ioii:itr\  !•'  a  .i-nditioii 
-,'.  hi'  h  b- 1!  1 1  Ma  i  on  Shi'  MI  a '.'.  i  and  Mr  \  alnaniolo.  the 
'  '.'.  .1  a  b  !e  !  1 1  •  i  a  n  I  1  in  I  a '  •  C  i .  i  e  <  I  I'  >  d  I :  i  November, 


POLITICS  123 

i  <)  i  i ,  as  '  verging  on  bankruptcy.'  When  Katsura  went 
into  office  in  i<;o'i  three  reforms  were  imperative,  financial 
readjustment  and  e.  onorny,  government  according  to  the 
(Constitution,  and  the  extension  of  ihe  franehise.  Those 
three  reforms  are  as  urgent  to-day  (  i  <;  i  5  j  as  ever  they 
were  in  i  oo.S,  and  the  various  efforts  made  to  obtain 
them  have  all  be.-n  easily  defeated  because  there  is  no 
political  paily  or  combination  of  parties,  whieh  is  able 
to  eontrol  the  power  of  the  elan  statesmen.  The  latter, 
as  a  consequence,  were  able  not  only  to  pinnae  the  nation 
into  appalling  economic  distress,  but  to  control  all  thoughts 
and  aspirations  towards  better  conditions. 

The  result  was  quickly  visible  in  the  rapid  spread  of 
socialism,  in  the  constant  groan  oi'  the  underfed,  and  in 
insistent  grumbling  against  the  methods  of  government. 
Nowhere  was  this  more  noticeable  than  in  the  educational 
institutions.  Loyally  and  discipline  are  the  only  lesions 
taught  in  the  elementary  schools,  and  the  virtues  of 
bureaucracy  in  the  higher  schools,  but  no  number  of 
Imperial  portraits  or  rescripts  will  appease  the  'Tying  (>t 
a  pupil's  stomach.  Teaching  a  full  child  is  a  hard 
enough  task,  but  teaching  an  empty  one  is  an  impo^i- 
bility  for  even  the  most  highly  developed  bureaucratic 
machine. 

For  this  to  a  very  great  extent  Katsura,  with  his 
dogmatism  and  despotism,  must  be  held  responsible.  No 
statesmen  had  so  great  opportunities  as  he  had  in  i  <;oS, 
and  few  have  failed  so  miserably. 

Bureaucracy  has  produced  main'  able  men,  but  i' 
maintains  national  culture  and  welfare  on  a  low  scale. 
The  curse  of  egotism  and  the  instinct  of  domination  are 
its  ineradicable  sins.  Katsura  was  an  apt  pupil,  and 
almost  bettered  his  teachers.  He  arrogated  to  hiniseli 
the  right  to  dictate  to  the  nation  as  a  uhole,  and  as 
individuals  what  it  should  read,  think,  belie\e,  and  do. 
That  in  acting'  so  he  violated  the  law  again  and  again 
was  nothing.  To  a  clan  slate-man  the  violation  ot  custom. 
the  development  of  individualism  is  a  far  more  Iv-inou-, 
crime.  Katsura  and  the  Clenro.  when  they  said  libertv, 


124  JAPAN    AT    THK    CROSS    ROADS 

meant  liberty  only  fur  themselves  to  restrict  the  liberty 
of  others. ' 

On  ih'  other  hand  it  i-  just  to  remember  that  these 
nun  uere  born  uiul  brought  up  in  aJi  atmosphere  f.ir 
ivmo\  ed  from  any  democratic  connection.  War,  as  we 
arc  learning  to-day,  i-  a  prolific  mother  of  autocrats  and 
bureaucrats. 

Kats-ara  Taro  was  born  in  1^47  in  Nai^ato  Province. 
IIi>  family,  though  not  prominent  in  the  clan  councils,  was 
a  very  old  one,  an  ancestor,  Oye  Otohito,  having  been 
a  Court  Councillor  in  the  ninth  century,  whilst  in  thej 
twelfth  century  Oyc  Iliromoto,  or  Xakamura,  wa>.  the 
backbone  of  the  K.'in  :kura  Sho-unatc,  and  responsible 
for  the  defeat  and  deposition  of  the  precocious  Toba  II. 
The  Katstira  family  were  feudal  retainer^  of  the  House  of 
.Mori.  Lords  of  Cl.odm,  and  the  late  Prince,  all  his  life 
\\a-  devoted  to  its  in'e:e  t^.  HI-  pia  el  the  c  -ec'ond  onl\ 
:o  hi-  duty  to  the  Lnvieror,  and  took  occasion  at  various 
tiiiH-s  to  renew  in  p:ii>.i  II.T  vow  of  fealty  to  the  family. 

1  loin  hi>  earlie-t  .I.iys  he.  was  d'-stineil  for  the  pro- 
fession of  arm-,  a--  wa>  only  bec'jinin^  for  the  son  of 
a  samurai.  Ifc  was  with  the  detachment  of  Cliodiu 
ret,iin<T^  which  lire  i  on  the  foreign  ship-,  in  the  Straits 
of  Shimono->i:ki.  Lat'-r  he  \s\is  attached  to  Kid<>  Kom, 
on  tin-  secret  mission  ti  O-aka.  when  Kido  and  Okuho 

receisri!     f''o;n     the     lliip-M'ial     Kll'^t'     ordel'.s     to     attack     the 

Prir.ce  of  Aid/u.  and  tr<-e  tlr-  Imperial  Court  from  the 
thraldom  in  which  it  u\t^  held  by  the  Siio^unate.  1  le 
!•(!  a  d'-;a  Jnncnt  of  til  :  Cho-hu  \\-arriors  at  the  battle 
of  I-'udi:mi,  and  was  prv-i-nt  .it  tin-  operation-i  \vhich 
precefjed  ilr-  Mirr«-;ider  ot  Admiral  Knomoio.  At  barely 
l\\i-nty  year-,  of  a;;<-  lr-  had  borne  a  considerable  share 
in  th'-  >  ampai;m  •  u'"  '''  accomplished  the-  Restoration, 
and  lul'r.  earned  the  p-n  ion  \\hiih  -.\'a^  award--d  him. 
lie  had,  however,  1,0  intention  o!  retiriiu;'  on  a 


1'OLITICS  125 

pension,  and  in  1X70  went  to  (Icnnany  to  study  military 
science.  The  years  he  spent  there  as  a  student  were 
often  sj)oken  of  by  liini  in  later  life  as  among  his  happiest. 
He  referred  not  only  to  what  lie  learnt  then.-  professionally, 
but  also  to  the  broad  outlook  which  they  gave  birth  to 
and  the  ambitions  which  they  fostered  in  him.  It  is  no 
secret  that  they  inspired  him  with  the  hop'-  oiv  day  to 
emulate  the  feats  of  Mohke  and  von  Koon,  and  the 
ambition  to  be  himself  welcomed  back  to  his  fatherland 
as  a  victor.  In  187;;  he  returned  to  Japan  and  served 
through  the  Satsuma  rebellion  and  the  Formosan  campaign, 
only  after  their  termination  to  again  return  to  Berlin  a:-. 
Military  Attache.  lie  spent  the  period  of  his  appoint- 
ment in  the  hardest  work  and  study,  and  devoted  himself 
in  particular  to  military  organization  and  administra- 
tion. It  was  during  these  years  of  attachment  to  the 
Legation  at  Berlin  that  Katsura  learnt  to  the  full  the 
necessity  and  the  value  of  concentration.  All  through 
his  life  a  terrific  worker,  he  was  in  after  days  accustomed 
to  say,  "  Yes,  I  am  still,  but  never  as  when  I  learnt 
to  work  in  Berlin." 

On  his  return  to  Japan  he  was  attached  to  the  staff  at 
Nagoya,  but  after  a  short  di  lay  received  an  appointment 
as  Secretary  to  the  Cabinet.  Promoted  colonel  in  1X82. 
he  was  nominated,  in  conjunction  with  Colonel  Kawa- 
kaini,  to  accompany  C.cn"ral  (afterwards  Marshall  Oyama 
to  Europe  to  study  military  organization.  The  mission 
had  a  close  connection  with  Far  Eastern  politics,  and 
was  the  immediate  result  of  a  memorandum  laid  before 
the  Council  by  the.  late  Marquis  Inouye,  then  Foreign 
Minister.  Japanese  aims  in  Korea  were,  already  beginning 
to  conflict  with  Chiivse  claims,  and  the  backward  state 
of  the  military  system  was  considered  by  the  Marquis 
as  likely  to  be  a  handicap  to  diplomatic  negotiations. 
The  three  K's— Katsura,  Iv;  lama,  and  Kawakami— were, 
with  Major  Mcckel,  responsible  fo;-  ;h  •  coirpiete  re- 
casting of  the  military  system — administrauoii,  organi/a- 
tion,  drill,  and  education — and  to  them,  more  than  to 
any  other  influence,  were  due  the  victories  of  Japan  in 


120  JAPAN    AT    THE    CROSS    ROADS 

the  wars  with  China  and  Russia.  They  were  promoted 
Major -Generals  in  18X5.  In  the  reorganization  Katsura 
had  been  re-jHiiisible  for  the  administration.  From  1X84  to 
iXc;i  he  ua-  Vice-Minister  ot  \Var,  and  in  1X0,0-1  uas 
a  (  io\  i •rnni'-n'  delegate  to  Parliament,  where  he  obtained 
with  comparative  ease  the  passage  ot  the,  in  those  day-, 
eiionnou-  appropriations  required,  d  his  Micros  in  later 
\<ar-  \\as  to  have  an  unfortunate  imluenee  on  Kat-uta. 
for  he  never  afterwards  -e'-nu-d  able-  to  reali/e  that 
military  ambitions  mu-t  be  limited  by  financial  resources. 
l!a\me;  completed  his  \\oik  at  the  \Var  oni,  e,  he 
;.;ave  up  his  de-k  for  the  i  ommand  of  the  Third  Division 
at  Na;;o\a.  On  the  outbreak  of  the  war  with  China  he 
led  thi-  di\i-;on  at  Pm^ -N'an^.  the  \'alu,  and  in  various 
battle-,  in  Manchuria,  both  the  system  \\hi<  h  he  had  created 
and  th<-  dm-ion  he  led  uorkru;  uitli  monotonous  siicro- 
(in  hi-  return  to  Japan  h"  received  a  \i--count\.  Already 
hi;.J)  in  the  councils  of  th  •  State,  he  was  ambitious  for 
higher  honour-,  and  ''Xpei  t--d  to  be  offered  the  Ministry 
of  \\  ar,  but  Yama;.;ala  uas  jealous  ot  his  success,  and 
O\aina.  the  commander  of  the  Second  .Army.  was 
aj  |*ointe  1  MI  his  stead.  In  I  X<;'i  he  \\as  (  iovernor-(  ieneral 
ot  I  otino  a.  and  u  a  -  responsible,  with  Uaion  (  Joto,  lor 
the  administ  i ati\  <  or;;a:n/ation  ot  ihe  island,  ('omdnied 
ol  ihe  truth  ot  the  motto,  '  (  )(\(  .  .j  - 1 ./ h ! .  on;  of  mind.'  he 
intrigue  1  to  i)  re<  a'l  d,  and  uas  appninted  '  onim  md'-i  of 
ill-  lok'.'i  :'airiso;i,  and  in  iXoX,  num:;  to  the  intlueii'; 
i  >\  Marqui-  Inouye,  \\  a  -  ntleicd  and  act  epted  the  po- t 
•  it  Mini  ter  o!  \\'ar,  a  po  iMon  \\lii'  h  he  held  dov.n  (.1 
I  '/"O,  b,i  )!;.  ell^a^ed  in  de\elopin;;  the  .\im\,  and  ia]ol 
Mi;.;  "I  '  oeft  Mi;1,  the  iid  a  f  \  \oies  t  1  '  till  t!f  Diet.  Ill 

th.it     year     h  •     je   i  ni'-d     oln.  e    on     ;\*  count     ot      ill    healdi, 
but   in   June,    i  '  ,• » i .  on  th-   n  liiemeni  ••(   th •••   Kidei    Stale 
ni'-n.    hioiive    an  1    \anii  Mta    ret  omni'-nded    |\a'    ma,    and 
b>     I-  Mill-    1    hi  -    In    !    <  'abine! 

I  i\s  MI.  ;     !•  •     hi       a['pi  e>  ial  loll     "f     (  e  r  man     n  let  hod--.     In 
n  i ! !  1 1  a  i  \    1 1  a  i  n  i  n  • .   a      u  •  •  i !   a  .   In-  'Ian    MI   line;      and   a  I  n  !  i  a 
lion    ,     K.I!    ma     <    t'U<      to     ih'-     Pjemi<-!    !ii|'     a     lead,    made 
biii  eau«  i.it .       1 1    '•',  a  -   all    to   hi  .   •  h  ad\  a.n'a."-    in    the   pub  hi 


POLITICS  127 

eye  that  he  w;i->  a  Choshu  man  and  a  strict  adherent  of 
Yarnagata.  It  was  to  his  advantage  that  in  his  dealings 
with  the  Dirt  IK-  had  known  how  to  demand  huge  appro- 
priations without  visibly  increasing  the  burden  of  taxa- 
tion, due  in  great  part  to  his  social  tact.  He  even  came 
into  office  with  a  considerable  amount  of  public;  confi- 
dence, lie  had  in  the  pa-.t  demanded  enormous  amounts 
for  military  expenditure,  but  lie  had  given  the  people 
some  tangible  results.  He  had  created  the  most  power- 
ful Army  in  the  Orient,  and  himself  led  a  part  of  it  to 
overwhelming  victory.  Thereby  he  had  obtained  for 
Japan  Formosa,  the  Pescadores,  and  a  huge  indemnity. 
Later  he  had  wanted  more  money,  and  under  his  minister- 
ship  Japan  covered  hersdl  with  glory  in  the  Boxer 
rebellion.  The  Japanese  public  dearly  likes  to  be  tickled, 
and  Katsura  knew  how  to  tickle  them.  He  was  never 
backward  in  singing  ],js  own  praises,  and  as  his  deeds 
redounded  to  the  glory  °'  Japan,  he  was  at  this  period 
of  his  career  almost  popular.  He  had  no  hesitation  in 
tolling  the  taxpayers  that  he  wanted  more  money,  but 
he  added  to  his  demand,  not  only  financial  readjust- 
ments, that  made  the  burden  appear  less  than  it  was, 
but  the  reminder,  "  It's  quite  safe  to  give  me  the  money, 
because,  as  you  know,  I  give  you  good  value  for  it." 
It  may  be  safely  assumed  that  when  Katsura  came 
into  power  in  1901  his  policy  was  mapped  out  for  him 
by  the  (lenro.  If  possible,  an  Kuropean  Alliance  was 
to  be  contracted,  preferably  with  (Ireat  Britain  ;  the 
Army  and  Navy  were  to  be  prepared,  for  any  emergency  ; 
and  the  Russo-Japanese  problem  was  to  be  settled  one 
way  or  the  other,  amicably  or  otherwise.  It  was  at  this 
period  that  Ito  lost  his  head  and,  in  consequence,  his 
position.  Ito  and  Yamagata,  often  before  at  a  state 
of  veiled  hostility,  came  to  open  enmity  at  the  (".euro 
councils,  which  followed  the  Cabinet  crisis  in  June,  1001. 
Ito  declared  for  a  ministry  affiliated  to  a  party,  Yama- 
gata absolutely  refused  to  agree.  Inouye  proposed  the 
retirement  of  all  the  Elder  Statesmen  and  the  ap]xjint- 
ment  of  Katsura,  who,  as  a  Choslm  man,  would  be  agree- 


128  JAPAN    AT    THF.    CROSS    ROADS 

able  to  Yarnagata  and,  as  a  relative  by  marriage  of  Ito 
and  Inouye,  would  be  agreeable  to  them.  So  matters 
were  arranged.  Ito,  a^  leader  of  the  Seiyukwai.  put 
up  a  fierce  attack  on  tlr-  Mini-try,  intending  to  defeat 
it  and  be  called  back  to  office,  lie  >urceeded  in  defeat- 
ing the  Mini-try  in  the  Diet,  but  only  when  he  had  done 
that  did  he  find  out  th-  -<>rt  oi"  man  Kai.-.ura  uas.  d  he 
1'iemier  di--o!ved  the  Dirt,  and  later  in  I'jo.}  obtained 
.in  Imperial  Rescript  apjjointing  Ito  Piv-ident  of  the 
1'nvy  (  ouncd.  a  j-o-ition  \\lrch  :ieee>-itat"d  hU  rcMgn- 
i:ig  the  lea  !er.-hip  oi  th  •  part;.'.  Thi^  latter  pn>t  wa  < 
taken  by  Manjui-  Saionji.  a  clo-v  personal  Iriep.d  ot 
Ito.  but  a!>o  i  losely  a--oeiated  with  C'ho-hn  and  Ka;-ura 
b;.  hi-,  eoiineetion  with  the  M»r:  iamily.  So  Ito,  in  the 
(ji'.ain*  Japanese  ;il:ra-e.  had  '  pok-.'d  the  thieket  and 
bnni^ht  out  a  erpenl.' 

The  lir-t  Kat-ura  .\  inn::i~t'M',i-)n  u'ill  a!wa\'s  !><•  a>-o.  i- 
ated  with  t!i--  eonelu-ion  of  ill--  Anglo-Japanes^  Alliain--. 
Since  th"  p'.ib'i  a'lon  oi  til1-  late  (  <nr.il  1  l,i\  a-hi'--  Mi-mon^ 
there  ha-  been  a  ti'nde.-u-y  abroad  to  di-e;'edit  the  moti\c- 
uith  \\!.i  !i  that  '(}in;iai"i  wa .  eo:n  lud.ed.  It  i>  probable 
that  Ha'.a-hi  goe^  mir  Ii  t  >o  lar  in  hi>  reileetiuii-  o;i 
Kat-ura'-  and  Konr;ra'>  honesty  in  conne'  t:')!i  \\ith  the 
lt'>  mi  —  ion  to  I'etrograd. 

It  i-  din".'  ul'  ti  ;:,id-  r  '  :'•  !  th  p.irt  whi«  h  !\oin:iia 
I  *  1  a \  e •  i  in  t !  i  •  :  . a '  t  •  A '  i .  i  >  d  i '.  h  h •  •  \\  a >  g >  n  i  a !  1  \ 
ion-idtre-1  a>  th--  i;.o-:  buli:a'it  l-'orei.;:j  M:ni-;ei  tli'- 
(i\vti;tni:^!:->  l.a  1  i-v.-i  !i  :d.  b-it  n.oie  re.  ently  th-  re  ;>  a 
di-jni-;tion  l«  :--d;i'"  t'li  -'i:;: '.'••,  and  to  n-;;a;d  him 
lath'-r  a-  a  <  I  V'-r  :.<•  <  i!  .ator  tha'i  a>  a  great  '..t-nia'i 
An  in  !«  !  .1 '  i.  a:  >'  wo:  !.e;'.  '  \\'.i  idva'ie-'d  i;:  \  •!•,  etnie 
hi.  talent-  n,'-t  v.i'ii  •:•  >i.-nrion.  l-.\  -n  v.l:-'!  :!f  '.it  - 
<  cunt  M  :; a  i  !;a  !  ••  l.o  <-\\  in.n  ;  ir  ad\  an>  >-'\\  '.;.  \\\\\  \ 
t!  ••;•'. it  ;er  .  am  •  :  aj  >.  . '.  .  h:  -  <  1  iv  -  \M-I-  '.  n  !.•  :  •  \  '<  <\  \l\>- 
ha-l.'W  oi  -IIM..;...  i.  A  .  .  i  !  :a;i  -  .  ..t  .!  .; 

-  a    i!.      -I:-.'.'.      :.    .'     t';,.|     ;-,M    -.     ,  ,|     an     a'  i  r:          ^:'h     «  ,:    . 


rOLITICS  129 

Lord   Lansdowne's   proposals,   work   which  he  carried   out 
in   his   usual   de-xhous   and   adroit    manner. 

It  was  a  peculiarity  of  the  late  i'rince  Katsura  that 
whatever  |w)st  he  nominally  tilled  in  his  own  Cabinets, 
he  actually  managed  all  the  ministries.  He  was  at  once 
Foreign,  Finance,  .\\'ar,  Xavy,  and  Home  Minister,  his 
nominees  to  those  offices  being  in  fact  only  chief  clerks, 
or  at  best  supervising  I'nder  Set  re-taries.  This  was  due 
not  oidsr  to  the  late  Prince's  masterful  personality,  but 
equally  to  the  constitutional  system  of  Japan.  The 
1'remier  is  the  only  member  of  the  Japanese  Cabinet 
who  really  counts.  lie  is  invariably  nominated  by  the 
FJder  Statesmen,  and  has  to  conduct  his  policy  in  accord- 
ance with  their  views.  II is  colleagues,  in  reality  sub- 
ordinate, have  to  adjust  their  opinions  to  his,  and  it  would 
be  not  only  against  Japanese  etiquette,  but  against  the 
whole  sy.stem  ot  government  for  any  one  of  them  to  oppose 
a  more  than  deferential  opinion  to  the  policy  ordained 
by  their  chief. 

There  is  little  doubt  that  in  10,00  the  Hlder  States 
men,  as  well  as  Katsura,  were,  for  reasons  of  foreign 
policy,  favourably  inclined  to  an  alliance  with  Great 
Britain.  Katsura  in  addition  was  eage-r  for  the  sanv  on 
account  of  the  financial  backing  which  Japan  would  be 
able  to  obtain  in  London,  and  which  would  considerably 
ease  his  burdens  in  connection  with  the  expansion  of 
the  Army  and  Xavy.  The  alliance  was  definitely  approved 
at  the  meeting  of  the  Gcnro  in  August,  1901,  to  which 
llayashi  refers,  and  the  only  point  which  arose  there-after 
was  Ito's  dejection  from  the  scheme  and  his  \isit  to 
Petrograd.  At  first  sight  it  would  appeal'  as  though 
Katsura,  in  authori/ing  this  visit,  was  playing  double1  with 
llavashi.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  Ito's  mis, inn  had  every- 
thing to  do  with  internal  politics  and  nothing  to  do  with 
foreign  politics.  Ito  was  tlie  state-man  who  rounded  on 
the  proposed  alliance,  not  because  he  had  any  real  objec- 
tion to  it,  but  because  oi  his  opposition  to  Yamagata 
and  Katsura.  That  Katsura  sanctioned  the  Ito  mis-ion 
was  due  [tartly  to  deference  to  the  Marquis's  position 

<J 


130  JAl'AN    AT    THK    CROSS    ROADS 

and    re|iutation,    and     to    hU    h-in.j;    pcrso/;,!    \\nti  <.i    \\ith 

the     Kmp'Tor,     hut     more     -o     to     the     idea     of      leKIIiL;     him 

ride  tor  a  fail.  The  Premier  rcan^ni/eil  that  he  hail 
hi  h;n  i  l.im  the  majority  ot  t'ne  (,i  nro,  Yam.t;;ata.  Mat-u- 
ka'a.  an!  <)\ama.  Inouye  had  approved  ot  the  Alhanre 
in  pnn  ipl1.  hut  wa>  d<--irou>  of  hrin^inu;'  (lermany  into 
it.  1 1--  :••!'  tha'.  an  An.;!o-japa:ie  .e  treaty  would  oifi-nd 
K'.:  :a,  an  1  p  -:hap-  proxoke  a  premature  war.  hut  an 
An.; io-i  ii-rm. m-Jap ane>e  tr.-aly  \\ould  he  a  i  omhiiiatiou 
\\!r.'  h  Ku--ii  \\ouid  not  dar •••  to  face. 

In  tii'-  Kat-ura  ('a:  :n<  t-  the  rules  ot  suh^er\  ienee 
([noted  a'>ove  were  -:ri  tly  e:.!'..n '-d.  and  in  addition  tin 
Premier  too!.  \<--y  ;_;oo  1  e.are  ihat  iu^  mini-NT.-,  \\ere  men 
v.  ho---  ideas,  it  th'-y  had  any,  .-!:  raid  not  run  eonlraiy  to 
hi-  ov. n.  As  ie;.nti'ds  the  majority,  however,  tIu-\'  had  no 
ideai  l)e\o;.l  tiio  e  -Uppii"d  th.-m  \\it!l.  d'eraULii!  and 

N'amarnoto.    the    M;m-t-:>    oi    tin     Army    and    the    N.i\\ 

le -p,-i  t:\rly,    Wefe    InVi-    !a->    lil;  n.    and    \.rie    tlie    nominee  > 

<;i  ("hodiu  and  Sat-uma,  i.ui  amon.,  t  the  re-t,  \\\:\\  the 
|  o--ih!e  i-.\."epl:on  o{  ]\i'i;.n;.i,  then-  \\a  not  one  \\  ho 
\\.i>  ah'  -v  tii  •  I  -\.-l  of  ,;a  o:n  c  h  !•  k. 

Th-  Kn  --•] ap.ine-'-  ,\\'.ar  :;a"»o  ••!  a  tremendo'as  -tiai;: 
oii  K.it-ura.  win  h,  however,  h-  lo  id  .-u<"(  -  tu!l\.  and 
lie  ha  !  tii'-  p'"a  u:  •  o;  -e>  in  th  •  diploia.i!  \-  \\lni  h  lie 
.ondu-  :.  d.  an  !  th  •  ..rmv  v.h;.  h  he  had  j.;in  r-'dl)  <  ivat.-d, 
!;iin;;  :'  to  an  ho-oura'd  -.  ;!  not  a  in,Ji!\-  -u:ie--tnl, 
i  or.,  h:  Kin.  ']  he  Trial)  o!  Por:-m,.ulli  hrou^li!  on  him 
and  oi;  konrara  a  t:  ••:..  :.  ion-.  -:orm  ol  ;;n;  ijtulaiit). 
i  i  .1  t  h  •  e;  e;:t  .  ;n  I  a:  a  .  du1  in  •  and  at  aT  tiie  !.  -:;ot  iat  ion 
:  i : «  ' : ;  1  '  o  : :  t !  i  •  •  n  n  •  •  - '.  t  *  a : :  in  K  a '  -  u :  a '  •  <  i  i  a  •  a  <  I  e  r ,  ! ,  i  -. 
un  \\erv;n.;  np.>  .; ,  ..;  hi  -  1:  i  nd  -.  Ii  would  ha'.e  !••• 
i  a  .  in!  •  •  .  to  inn  a  ;  :  •  •  t  a  •  •  .!>':••  o !  1 ; ;  n  i  -•  e  i  t  a : : '  i  1 1 1  e 
1  ah;;.'  :  on  to  t  .  '••<::  ^  :•  o.  j .,_  <  c.\  •  p'  --npoien:  iai  . 
.it  I'm!  ::. o  .ta.  ..  ;'  ...  '-a  !  ••«  .;d-.;  :::i;:  a  t  p  Jo!  v-hi  Ii 


1'OIJTICS  131 

she  had  started  to  light,  the  eontioi  of  Korea  and  the 
evacuation  by  Russia  of  .Manchui  ia.  II  -h*'  had  continued 
the  campaign  she  would  have  been  in  an  unfavourable 
(H)sition,  for  her  money  was  exhausted  and  her  la-t 
fighting  men  called  up.  In  addition,  her  forces  were 
spread  over  an  enormous  front.  Russia,  on  the  other 
hand,  though  beaten  in  battle,  was  militarily  in  a  stronger 
position  than  wh'-n  war  broke  out.  Her  communications 
became  more  secure  as  tho.M-  of  Japan  becani'1  more 
precarious.  To  continue  lighting  would  ha\"e  been  for 
Japan  to  ri-k  everything  on  a  campaign,  having  tor 
Us  object  territoiia!  or  monetary  acquisitions,  and  would 
have-  certainly  re-ultel  in  endangering  linti-h  friendship. 
Komura  was  sent  to  Portsmouth  to  ratify  the  stmn^  (/n •>, 
which  actually  existed,  and  t  >  pick  up  any  additional 
items  which  he  might  be  able  to  get  from  .\Yitte.  If 
the  Ru  .sian  plenijx)tentiary  was  obtuse  enough  to  pay 
an  indemnity,  all  the  better.  lUit  he  was  not,  nor  did 
he  even  consider  the  suggestion  for  a  minute.  Katstira 
showed  great  wisdom  and  courage-  in  making  peace  when 
he  did,  the  more  so  as  he  rccogni/ed  what  an  outcry 
would  follow  the  publication  of  the  terms.  It  was  the 
psychological  moment  to  obtain  the  very  best  conditions. 
That  the  nation  rebelled  ae-ainst  what  thcv  considered  was 


and  to  the  mistaken  action  o!  the  authorities  in  presenting 
to  the  country  only  th--  most  favourable  aspects  of  the 
military  and  financial  situations. 

The  failure  to  obtain  an  indemnity  from  Ru-sia  un- 
doubtedly left  Kat^tira  in  a  serious  linancial  hole,  from 
which  he  endeavoured  to  climb  by  the  nationalixation  of 
the  railroads,  lie  was  unable,  however,  to  face  the  !)iei 
on  account  of  hi-  unpopulaiity,  and  resigned  in  January, 
i  t/o(\  leaving  behind  him  a  budget  to  be  adopted  b" 
his  successors,  and  a  railway  scheme  to  the  acceptance  of 
which  Marquis  Saionji  was  pledged. 

In  the  history  of  Japan  th-  first  Saion.i  Minisirv  \\ill 
probably  not  figure  as  a  s'  parate  entity,  lor  in  reality  it 


132  I. MAN    AT    THK    TKOSS    ROADS 

u.i-   onl.    an    app'"id:\    (<>   the    preceding    ;iiiiuini«trati<m. 

It  u.i  ton-ideied  advisable  h\  tin-  KM*-:  Si  ite^men  .nul 
l>.  Kat-nra  InniM-il  th.it  In-  >hou!  !  >urn-nder  tin-  teim. 
>>f  i'tti<e  for  the  tiuic  Ix-jmj;,  ami  ;^i\c  place  to  a  more 
liberal  ^tate-nian.  There  \\a->  no  inten'Mii  in  a!iaiu;im; 
'ln^.  »>t  altering  the  JM)!I.  y  di  the  country  a!>n>a<l.  uhiUt 
i!  ua-  believed  that  at  lioni--  a  more  liberal  administration 
v.  'iild  have  Iris  difficulty  in  reor:'.ani/ine;  th--  tniani  es 
..:iil  strengthening  the  nation, tl  < ontidence  in  the  ;.;o\  em- 
inent. I'niortunaU'ly  the-,-  :;oo  1  i;i;e:i;io:is  \\<-re  ruined 
ff.  the  appalling  I'Xpi-nditure  (leinanded  !>y  the  inih- 
taM-t>  and  !>y  the  a",^re^-ive  action  <»t  th"  --aine  party 
in  Manchuria.  l)unni;'  the  whole  oi  the  in  -t  SaKinp 
a<lnnni->tration,  the  «  \-i'reniier  \\a^  the  v,  ire-j!u!'-T  In  tund 
t!ie  M-fMi'S,  and  it  \\-as  o\vin;.;  to  him  that  l>aron  Ka'o 
re-i^ncd  the  lo;  i^n  Mini-tci^liij).  and  tha:  the  l.^c  ( 'ount 
IIa\adii  tell  into  di-;.;race.  XeithM'  of  them  \\.i>  pliable 
enough  to  vait  hi>  \-iew^.  That  !!a\a-iii  did  not  .!•  lually 
h,i\e  to  re .;_;!!  o ! li i  e  u.i^  dii''  to  th'  ;;reat  credit  he 
ei!|o\rj  .-.hio.id,  ati'l  to  a  k'!o\\  ic  d'.;e  ot  the  cvnici-m 
\i.  M h  \\ii:i  h  he  \vonl  1  have  rxpo--,j  tj!(-  ulpilc  intrigue 
in  the  j>re  s.  !!r  did  in  !a  ',  tht'e.iien  to  re  i^n  in 
Si  pi-  mi  >«-r.  \  <  '  < >.  :n  connection  \\  'th  t  he  i !'  l.i\  in  the 
c\  a<  uaMon  oi  M  nn  !iini  i.  and  \'..i-  onl\  not  t  i'-.'  n  at  In- 
\\iitd  ()•  •  a'l-^e  1 1!  j\oimna'>  rej  i  i-ntaMon-^  trom  I.on'.on 

lh.it     -i:    h    a     -tep    \v  r; !   !    |oi  1  eit     a    "/  i  id    ( !  MI    i  •!     t!i"    (<i',ill 
d<  ".'  '•     |apan    e-i  10  .  cd     m    th"    t  il  y . 

II:        •    o;.  !    ,'ia'    in  a     :<!:..'!  i   tia'io'i,    •,-.  h  (  !;    la^t'    '.    iiom 
IT'      to     !</'  i.    u  a  -    nonnnalK    i\\:<     to   tiie    iail'ne   ol    ih 
Jin.ii:'  :  i !     p:  •  >i  >o  a!  >     o!     t  li-     (  'aliiriet,     t!:  >'i    ii     in     la'  I      i1. 
v.  .1       ill--     !••   'il:     o;     th'-     '  i'  •      I'l  U.         •     .'   -p!"lio!i     \s  i:h     ;n  - 
a-  'IV  It  \  I  h.  •   •     \\  a       rea  li\     n«)    d-  iini'e     p.  i!i'  h  a!     r  •  a   ••:' 

!"i    .  >  i  .oa  a'  -    i      i    n  i1 .« >\\        i ;    \\  a      I .  n  •    t  h  i'    !  hi-    tin  m-  iai 


POLITICS  133 

It  is  only  reasonable  to  suppose  that  the  political 
changes  between  i<;oo  and  looS  were  the  result  of 
arrangements  privately  made  between  Katsura  and  Saionji 
and  sanctioned  by  the  demo.  Xo  Japanese  -tate-man 
has  ever  had  su<  h  complete  faith  in  himself  as  Katsura 
had.  He  surrendered  oilier  to  Saionji  i'i  January,  i  <)<><>, 
to  escape  a  serious  disturbance  in  domestic:  aliairs  as  the 
result  ol  th"  antagonism  aroused  by  the  Treaty  of 
Portsmouth  and  the  Hibiya  Park  riots.  Discretion  was 
the  better  part  ol  valour.  Saionji  was  olicred  olli<  e  on 
condition  that  he  should  pursue  Katsura'-;  policy,  and 
gracefully  retire  when  Katsura  should  feel  that  the  time 
had  come  to  return  to  power.  That  occurred  in  i^oS, 
\\hen  Saionji  stepped  out  and  Katsura  in.  This  would 
appear  to  be  the  case  i  rom  the  statements  of  Saionji  at 
the  time.  The  only  curious  feature  is  the  servil--  ac<|ui- 
e--ccnce  of  the  majority  party  in  the  Diet.  In  ioo'.» 
read\-  to  pull  Kaisura  down,  in  roo.S  it  dumbly  obeyed 
the  instructions  of  Saionji  to  support  Kat-ura. 
planation  is  in  part  that  Katsura,  in  obtaining  S 
agreement,  included  in  the  1  arg'ain  that  of  tin 
lie  led,  but  main!}'  that  the  Seiyukwai  was 
poiiiics  to  (ie!end  principle-;,  but  to  obtain  spoils, 
sition  does  not  pay  a  political  party  in  Japan, 
the  strong  leadership  of  I  to.  and  with  a  large  majorii\ 
in  the  Diet,  the  Seiynkwai  had  twice  been  badly  de- 
feated  by  Katsura  in  1902  and  i  go  }.  It  they  were  not 
ready  to  make  an  cnii"itc  with  the  ( iovernmeut.  either 
tin-  Diet  would  iie  dissolved,  and  they  must  i;;.,!i;  another 
general  election,  u  hen  fun. Is  were  lo\v  and  defeat  certain, 
or  other  panic-  would  accept  Kat->ura's  overtures. 

It  ha-  been  freely  alleged,  and  ui;h  ju~t;  •<•.  that 
Katsura  was  iv)  constitutional  statesman.  Though  it  was 
not  until  the  y.  ar  of  h;s  death  that  he  embraced  a  political 
party,  at  the  last  convince  1  of  the  futili;\  of  trying  \» 
go\  ern  without  the  support  ot  one,  yet  throuvjriut  his 
career  he  dUpiav.'d  unparallele  1  dexterity  in  h.mdliiig 
the  \arious  j)ait:.e->  in  th-  Diet,  lie  bou::d  the  SiT.  uk\\  ,ii 
to  hi-  cliariot -wheels,  an!  \vitli  necul'ar  adr.  ijtai  -uc- 


134  JAPAN    AT    Till:    TROSS    ROADS 

•  erded    in    converting    the    partv   of   constitutional    reform 
into    th"    nio-t    p--'niciotis    or --.in    of    bureaucrat  y    \\hich 
tin-    i.iuntiY    has    ever    known.       Prating    |>oliticians    \\ho 
tor    \ear>    !ia  1    foamed    with    riejiteous    nidi-nation    at    tlu-. 
.    r      HP  n'!on   ot    the   dan-   eagerly,   nay   avariciously,   ate 
:h<n    own    \vorls.   }>!•-. isantly  dis-i:i-ed   in   the   -olden   pilK 
a::d    h  .It-  y<-d     p:oin;-e-     whi'  1)    lie    knew     so    \\.-|l     hou     to 

I  In-  si-Co;-,, i  i\.it-n:a  Administration  \vas  in  many  re 
-[  '  i  !s  very  d:!t>Tr:i;  from  hi-  tir-t  e>-av  a-.  Premier. 
a;.d  in  no  r>-sj>ect  was  tin,  more  marked  than  in  tin- 
p--i:;o:i  ot  its  i  hief.  Autocratic  a-  he  had  l)«-en  in 
li.ti.dhie.'  hi-  !;r-:  ],n:ii-!r,.  he  had  not  tailed  to  -hou 
deference  to  the  M;dT  Statesmen.  \\ho  had  supported 

him  n-ht  through  th"  Irvm-  period  of  the  Russian  \\  at  . 
In  looj  Kat-u:a  v.  a  -  takin;;  a  trial  run.  In  looS  he 
took  the  \vh---d  a  a  pr.t  ti--  'd  and  thofon-hly  <|!iahlied 
dn\er.  !  h"  efie<  t  oi  this  \\a-  evidint  in  the  \'ery  hack 
•  at  \\hnli  the  r:!der  Sta'e  men  occnpr-d  during  his 
!•<  o;,d  tcinri-  of  office.  Alter  h"  retired,  Japanese  used 
1"  sa\  :  '  \Yhati  ver  liajfn  Kat-ma  has  done,  he  ha- 
a'  1- .ist  lone  th;>  -o)l,  h-  banidi"d  th"  (lenro."  d'he-e 
old  ;.;i-nt leinen.  ho\\e\-i-r,  di-co\i-red  an  cxtraonlinary  l:ke  • 
in--  ,  to  ;  h"  h1. ii if  i  '•  pe  n\  ,  for  thon.  !i  i  >am  h  -d  !>'.  K.it  -n:  a 
and  oii!it  ra:-d  \e-l>dc  at  lea-l  !>•.•  Sa;o:;j'.  Vaiuam  -to. 
(>!;i.  n!.  i,  and  Kato  :n  -  •;>  <  ••••din-  \ea*'s,  th'ir  -ervites  ate 
-'d!  in\  ,i  i  ;a!  i;  \  i<  ,"ii  1:1  -'•  'i  at  mon.i  n'  -  «\  nation. d  <  r;-i- 
I  h"  -ei  ond  Ka'-nra  (  a!>ini-t  ha-  !)--en  des(  rilx  d  .1 
'he  nio-t  d'-spoti'1  of  a!!  ih-  .id'r.ini-t :  a' ion-,  \\lr-h  |ap.m 

h  t          nilefed       -i:i<    •      tl:  •          »-•  al'f  I      i  "M    '  if!'  i'  U!. ll      :;o\  efll- 

r;i'-nt    v.  i      '  -*ai»li -ii"  i    in    th"    lonntr..       i:    •  on  i-!<   I    •  •! 
• !  i  •  •    I ' :    :  i :  ••  i     an!      •  •  •  n  •   « '  i  i '  • '    .        1C  i  a  n-  h  i    and    S  1 1 1  •  •    i  •  •  • 
.    !    ,:  ti,     \I-:a  Hi,--  oi  \V  .1  an  i  ill     N.i\  \  .      I  i  -   oii.e 
i;i'-i;ili    i       uei.     '.•!•«•  11    M;  .      ,  |e<  :,-  1    |,  n     ih.-n     .  o  :.  .1  t.  . 

•  t,.  ••    in    th  •    I':,  •  .:    r'  II.-.    in    add:':.m    (.. 

:h-     da"  i  t  n    P:      i-l-  '.'.t.    undeitook    :lj..  «•    o|    ih 

M;:,!   -i  .     .-!     i  ,-,  I  '  i      ,,o  :     v.a.     undo':1,!  -dl>     ill-- 

...     ail    t  •    '    I.    and    :!i."-    v.  ,  ,;  ,;;,;\     no 

•  •-.       •  I   ••  !  •  "  i  :    i  a'  i        i .  c  '          i '     ai!         i ;  >  e  >  1«-     <  >l 


POLITICS  13; 

occupying  it.  No  one  would  admit  that  Katsura  was  a 
born  financier,  and  few  would  care  to  admit  that  he 
was  even  threatened  with  expert  financial  knowledge. 
It  is  improbable,  however,  that  even  a  Nei  ker  or  a 
<  Ios<  hen  would  have  been  able  to  serve  fapan  iisefullv 
at  that  time.  The  trouble  ;h,it  had  to  be  la<  ed  wa-  not 
so  much  a  financial  one  as  a  politic. d  one.  The  Army 
and  the  Navy  were  both  making;  enormous  demands 
lor  new  expenditure,  and  the  problem  was  to  ;;rant  as 
little  as  possible  to  either  without  dii\in;.,  them  to  despair. 

Katsttra's  princiji.il  financial  uork  wa -.  the  e\'olution 
of  a  scheme  lor  liquidaliiu;"  t!ie  National  1  )ebt  and  the 
conversion  ol  the  \\'ar  Loans.  His  measure,  had  the 
merit  ol  a  definite  character,  and  his  establishment  ol 
the  Sin  km;.;  Lund  on  a  lilty  million  yen  ha-is  diil  much 
lor  a  time  to  revive  Japane-e  ere  lit  abroad.  Mis  con- 
version scheme  was  cLver  but,  so  tar  as  the  internal  bonds 
wen-  concerned,  marred  by  the  fictitious  maintenance  ol 
prices.  I  nahle  to  carry  on  without  borro\\  inv;,  he  kept 
the  letter  ol  hi-  promi-e.  though  not  the  sjiirit.  by  a  number 
ol  trick\-  operations,  which  later  weighed  heavily  against 
Japan's  requirements  in  the  monev  market. 

In  foreign  politics  the  Prince  tried  to  adopt  what 
Marquis  Komura  described  as  a  policy  of  '  the  perfec- 
tion ol  beauty,'  the  cardinal  feature  ol  which  wa>  a 
series  of  ententes  with  all  the  Powers.  It  was  an  exten-i<>n 
of  the  Hayashi  plan  of  controlling-  the  actions  of  lun-o;>e 
in  ('hina  by  negotiating  coiu'ention-;  \\-liich  should  i;i\e 
)ap;in  a  voice  in  an\-  mo\-e  m,'.;K'  by  any  other  nation. 
Ilaxashi  had  completed  the  Fran co -Japanese  Trea-\-,  and 
Katsura  negotiated  a  d"d.iration  ot  policy  with.  America. 
\'er\-  much  nn-ler  the  intltienre  ot  the  late  X'iscount  Aoki. 
he  fa\'oured  a  treat1/  with  (lermanv,  and 


Irom  which  he  was  only  turned  by  the  urgent  remon - 
stranci's  ol  Komura.  \\ho  refused  to  -hare  in  a  negotiation 
which  miejit  ha\'e  proved  embarras-iin^  to  (I re  it  Ilritam. 
In  Korea  the  Prince  deli'rmined  It  pur-ik1  hi-  former 
policy,  and  tlu  protectorate  \\hich  had  been  then  di'clared 


136  JAI'AN    AT    THE    CROSS    ROADS 

was  convert:-  1  into  annexation,  a  step  which  would  have 
been  tak'-n  ratiuT  earlier  hut  for  the  op;»osi;ii>n  ot  tin- 
late  I'r:n<  e  Ito.  Japa' e  e  Resident -(ieneral  at  Soul  until 
his  a-sa--ination  in  i  ()  10. 

\Vlfil--t  the  eve-  o!  Kurope  were  mainly  directed  to 
the  foreign  and  Irian  ial  {xjli-.-y  of  the  administration, 
its  internal  j>oii  \v  wa  ^  not  l'-ss  worthy  of  seiioiis  atten- 
tion. Lar^e  appropriations  \\ere  toned  through  for  the 
initiation  of  pubh.  work--,  1'Ut  the  amount  were  out 
<it  all  proportion  to  tlie  enonnou-.  Mims  devoted  to  die 
expansion  of  armani'.ut-.  It  wa-  not  ^urpri-i'i:;  that  the 
i  ontmuar:ce  ot  the  uar  taxa'i  >n  and  its  heavy  increase  to 
meet  t!ie  po^t  helium  expenditure  raided  a  '•pirn  oi  un- 
re  t.  uhi'  h  fou.nd  it-  ou:l  t  in  -o«  lali-m.  The  l.ine.ui- 
t  r;!tic  o!ii'':a'>,  u;ter!v  ignorant  of  the  aiin^  an  i  doctnne-> 
of  -o .  ia'i  -m,  !iut  well  .iw.ire  that  it->  advant  e  must  m«  an 
t!i-;r  own  retreat,  la'x-lled  it  .i>  aii.i:  •  hi  -m,  a:ul  sternK" 
:ejU'e>-ed  it.  l.iiierty  of  tiio;i;;ht  \sa->  more  -^e\e;'ely 
|.;:'i!  died  than  h!)--rty  of  ,i-  tion,  and  no'diri;.;  more  --hocl<  d 
the  out-id--  \\o-ld  than  the  secret  fial  a::d  execution  «\ 
K"to!-;u  and  h;>  a  -o  Kite.,  on  a  c!:ar:;e  uhiili  ua^  1:1- 
d«  finitely  !o:mu!atel  and,  a^  iat  -r  k:  owied^e  has  !io\vn, 
quite  inadequately  ]iro\-.-d.  In  dome-ti  allaiis  ilie  Ka:- 
sura  ri<^:/!ii'  ua-  o:)'1  I"';.;  wr.-ncli  .it  the  con-ti'nt  loiial 
jinvile.;  \\i'h  w!:ich  the  Iat  •  monai"' !i  endo\\'-d  hi- 

|M-.,|,1,.. 

\\ith     th"    eclip-e    ot     the     I^lder     State-men     Knt-uia 

ti  H  »d   out    a     t  !i'-    -  ile   champion    (4    e\  t  r.  -me    1  mreaiu  :  a>  \  . 

Ilia'    h'-    \\  a  ^    alili     to    ho!  1    the      all  "ii     -o    Ion;1.    \|.a-    due 

a      mu1  h    \»    th-    toml'-te    :a;!u:  •    «\    the      oiitii.i!    -\s-,cni 


T 

i  •  ••  k  Ie-  ,   u-e   nt    I  m;;  -rial    <  »;  •  :i:.ani  e-,    \\  l:ii   ;    r    t  id-    !    •  • .  •  : 
'    !!ij  o!  a;  ',     d.iii'  u  !t  1  •   ,     l:ot     on!',      i  :••.;'  -d     <  !a:  i  ;<•; , ,.!       ;  >i . 
'  i  d  i  1 1 1      ot    u  h .  <  1 1      :  i  •  '  e      i  v  •    M  i :  1 1    t  e  r      h  a  \  .  •     t  \  a  1 1  e.  i    t ; . ,  •  m 
•  :\«     ,     iiu!      a:,  .u   ••  I     a     h  s'ld     "t       h:-.     m«'f!i"  i       a:,  !     a 
i!i    n/aid     !'i:      til'-       'a;ii«-uie     au'-  r;  r  a;  ill.     \\h.  •  !i     in      lol    , 
','.  a      to    j  •  r  1 1  \  •  •    !  i :  •    o  A  n    u :  i  •  i  i  > :  • .  \'>  ,     ::  <    '  1 1  •  a ' .  •  !  •  a    ! 

,;:  i' •<»;  !  an!    1 1-    U  1'   •  it    in       f.'o    -a'l      ini-     \\  a      '  l.e   i  <  \      i  >  \\   \>  '. .  i    '  i 
it   <i    '  a    IOIM-  i    '.',  if  ii    1':  i:i'    •     i  a:;.a.-at  i         No   '..          man    L  i-  .. 


POLITICS  137 

away  the  ladder  by  which  lie  climbs,  at  all  events  until 
lie  has  arrange  |  another  bv  whi<  li  to  escape  it  necessary. 
This  was  what  Katsur.i  did,  thou-h  it  mn-t  be  admitted 
that  circumstances  combined  to  disable  hi-<  second  ladder 
before  he  had  it  tirmly  placed  in  position. 

<  >n  resij^nini;  oinVe  in  i  <>  i  i  he  reali/ed  the  imposM- 
bility  ol  attempting  t>  i  arry  on  the  i;overnnr-nt  without 
the  support  of  a  pojlti  al  parly  of  his  own.  lie  consulted 
with  Marquis  Inouye,  \vho  since  looi  had  been  inclined 
to  the  same  opinion,  and  rather  drew  towards  Count 
( Manna,  who,  though  re;ired  from  an  a<  live  share  in 
politics,  continued  nevertheless  to  strenuously  c\pre^ 
his  views  both  in  the  pre^s  and  at  public  meetings. 
In  the  summer  of  1 01  2,  in  <ompanv  with  Baron  ( loto, 
Mr.  \Vakatsiiki  and  a  numerous  suite,  he  left  Japan  lor 
Lurope.  It  was  repeatedly  denied  that  he  had  any 
diplomatic  mi-sion,  and  so  far  as  the  government  \vns 
concerned  this  \\as  true.  It  inu-t,  however,  aluay>  be 
remembered  that  Katsura  distinctly  fancied  hiniM-lf  in 
the  role  ot  diplomatist,  a  failing  which  had  ^i\-en  rise 
to  disayrccnic'iHs  \\ith  I\<-mura  in  i<;oS  and  190*;.  lie 
had  never  abandoned  hi>  hope  ot  negotiating  a  (.lerman- 
Japanese  treaty,  and  e\-en  had  \  i^ions  of  di^.-olvint;'  the 
enmity  between  (ireat  Hi'itain  and  (lermany  by  such 
nu-an^,  in  much  the  same  way  as  the  An^Io-Kus>ian 
entente  had  created  a  rapprochement  beiueen  Russia  and 
Japan.  A  not  less  important  object  hi-  had  in  VKW 
was  the  study  of  party  Lvovernment  in  Kurope,  and  for 
this  he  was  accomjKiaied  by  \\irious  gentlemen  \\'hose 
work  on  arrival  in  Knrope  was  to  be  the  examination 
ol  party  sysli-ms.  Arrived  at  i'etro^rad,  he  \\a- 
re<~alleil  to  Japan  by  the  death  of  the  Meiji  Teimo. 
Vecompanied  on  his  return  by  llanm  (loto  and  Mr. 
\Vakatsuki,  the  other  members  o!  his  partv  i  oiilinued 
their  |ourney.  and  in  dne  cotir-e  completed  the  investi- 
gations tor  which  til-1.'  ha'l  srt  out. 

Hack  a^'ain  in  I'ok\o,  t!ie  I'rir.c"  u\a-  appointed  Lord 
Keeper  ol  the  I'nvv  Seal,  to  the  astonishment  ot  every 
one  and  not  ;h  •  !.a-t  o{  himseh  .  The  secret  hi-torv  ol 


138  JAPAN    AT    Till-.    CROSS    ROADS 

th"  appointment  has  ni'vrr  yet  been  written,  and  prob- 
ably never  will  be.  It  was  ^.-nerally  regarded  as  a 
supreme  eifort  of  1'rnice  Yama^ata  to  -h<-l\e  Kat-nra  in 
a  |*i-:t.(>:i  ii'-ar  th"  Kmperor.  where  he  < ould  not  interfere 
with  a  revival  ot  the  \  ama^ata  inllucnce.  (  )n  the  other 
hati'l.  many  Japanese  inclined  to  see  in  it  a  parallel  to 
the  Sho.;u!iate,  Katsiira  in  an  unavailable  [M>sition.  able 
to  dominate  the  whole  administration  of  th  •  iountr\.  A 
--ory  i  iivulaU'd  at  th"  time  related  that  th"  d1.  in:;'  Kmperoi 

aroused     Inillselt     -"Mi;  i'-:it  !y     to     -ay     to     his     -!liie-^.u     and 

hi.  uife:  '  d'rn-t  Kat-nra."  '1  here  aj/p'-ar^  on  hi.,h 
<  oMrt  authority  to  be  no  ^ood  foundation  lor  :he  aiie.  d  ite. 
\\'hat  i  certain  i>  that  \'amaxata  li.id  alread)  decided 
on  lurnn:^  out  tli  •  Sa'onji  Mini  t;\  and  in-tailing  nth'-r 

IVraii'Iii  or  llira'a  in  th"  Mai'«j'!:>'>  |»I  i- e.  It  l\.it-ii:a 
at  th<-  tmi"  hef.l  oiiice  in  th<-  I'al  e'e,  ->n«  h  a  -tep  \\onld 
b--  comparative!)  e.i-,y,  but  if  h-  -^hoiild  -till  be  at  a 
loo^c  end,  no  inlluen  e  ol  \',imaL;ata'-  could  ha\  c-  per- 

uaded  cither  ot  hi-  henc'nm-n  to  i-\pd>e  tlieni-elves  in 
a  i  i  rtain  and  <iu-hm;;'  d--lea!.  That  Siionn  \\a~-  con- 
sulted on  the  apjx  liniment  a::d  a;;ri.-d  is  certain.  Mi- 
a<  <  jUJi'-i  en<  e  was  probably  due  to  the  kllouled^e  that 
if  and  uh'-n  Ka'^ura  retnr'i'-d  t  •  pou.-r  it  \\onld  be 
at  the  h' ad  of  .1  putv  more  po\\t-rliil  by  far  than  the 
Scr.ukuai.  of  uhi'h  h  •  \\a-  tii'-  leader. 

I  saw  a  ;;ood  d'-al  ol  him  duntr.;  th'-  -tormy  da\'s  ol 
his  tli;rd  ('.tbinit.  and  ma:vll'-d  at  the  indomitabi'i:  \ 
ol  a  man  .eekiii:;  tin-  impO'-i!>Ie  At  \'arions  tim.',  he 
told  \eiy  tnilv  ot  In,  in!'-ntio:is  and  platls.  lie  had  ihea 
bci  om<-  (on\'erti'd  to  tli"  party  s\->t'-:n.  an  1  \\  a  -  deter- 
mi!;ed  to  lo'Mi  a  party  ot  hi-  o\\:i.  I  he  Se;\nkuai,  h" 

aid,     \'.    re     a     ]>  a   k     <•!     bi.u  kmailet  s,     and     thieve  ,     and 
hn.i;,'  :a!     i  •  Jo;  m     \\  a       impo  — i!>!e     ,o    1  i  i.;     a       ;  !;• 
|-  ••»•.  ei  -.        I       :'ii!'    !    a!     lii"    tho-i     !i!     i .[     l\a:  -  n.i     '!    ad:n        a 
parts,    altln>u:;h     i     k:i"U     thit     h"     !ia  I     Ion;;     iM'-nd-d     \» 
do     ii,    that    I.e.":1,    !  ><•<  n    t!i"    j  •;  in    i:  •  1 1    r  -a  -on    tliat    \ania 
.•ata      h'  !ved     him     in     :ln-     I'a!  i        a      I  or, I     1'tiv  .     Seal 
I      aid,    '     V..IM     Hi    h  ;e          ,o  :    !,a. 


POLITICS  139 

you  now?  "  "Sir  nuissen  !  Sir  miissen  !  "  he  said. 
"  Die  Sriyukai  mil-sen  ausgeschlosscn  sein  I  "  He 
always  sjxike  in  (  irrman  in  conversation  (he  knew  no 
Knglish),  hut  his  official  statements,  to  avoid  errors  creep- 
ing in,  were  always  given  in  Japanese  and  translated  by 
an  interpreter.  Katsiira's  conversion  to  the  party  system 
dated  from  the  fall  of  his  second  ministry.  His  journey 
to  Kurope  in  i<>!2  had  a  threefold  object  to  discuss 
the  Chinese  situation  in  Russia,  to  make  an  agreement 
with  Cicrmany  similar  to  the  Franco-Japanese  Agreement, 
and  to  study  party  institutions  in  Kurope,  especially  in 
(lermany,  Scandinavia,  and  Kngland.  I  happen  to  know 
this  because  I  was  instrument.il  in  procuring  for  some 
ol  the  member-;  ol  his  suite  introductions  whit  h  wen; 
helpful  to  them  in  their  studies.  When  the  Prince  was 
retailed  to  Tok\o,  owing  to  the  death  of  the  Fmperor, 
these  gentlemen  continued  their  journey  and  carried  out 
the  investigations  as  required.  Subsequently  the  Prince 
told  me  that  such  had  been  one  of  the  objects  of  his 
journey,  and  thanked  me  for  the  slight  assistance  I 
had  been  happy  to  give. 

What  party  government  would  have  been  like  under 
his  a?gis  I  cannot  imagine.  I  think  that  his  party  would 
have  become  a  second  Seiyukwai  in  mora's,  for  he 
was  lavish  in  his  patronage  and  pistona^c,  and  reckless 
in  the  use  of  bribes,  and  with  the  Japanese  politician 
the  habit  of  bribery  and  blackmail  grows  the  more  it 
is  fed.  His  administration  lasted  from  December  \2, 
1 1;  i  2,  to  February  II,  i(;ij,  under  conditions  which 
will  be  recounted  on  a  later  page. 

That  it  ~was  the  democracy  that  swept  him  from  oliice 
is  true  enough,  but  that  it  was  a  democracy  which  was 
lighting  for  the  sweets  of  power  and  not  in  defence 
of  its  supjxised  principles  was  shown  by  the  agility  \\ith 
which  the  Seiyukwai  proffered  its  support-  -on  terms  - 
to  the  succeeding  Vamamoto  Cabinet.  Whether  Prince 
Vamagata,  whose  ambitions  and  intrigues  were  respon- 
sible for  this  series  of  dramatic  situations,  did  hinisrlf 
anv  ''ood  therein  is  a  matter  of  great  doubt.  The  mili- 


JAPAN    AT    TI1K    CROSS    ROADS 

in  whose  int"rests  lie  acted  have  ne\er  since 
attained  power,  and  though.  owini^  to  tlte  Kuropean  \\'ar, 
they  have  obtained  expansion  ot  armaments,  tb,  \-  ha\e 
lo-t  their  most  powerful  weapon  in  the  o;>enin:,r.  b\  Conn1. 
<  'knma.  oi  the  \Var  and  Navy  M  in  i  -tries  to  retired  oliii  ei  . 

Out  <>t  ol'ticc  Ka'-ura  di  voted  him-i-'.t  to  the  oi-an- 
i/at;on  and  the  strengthening  ot  his  new  parr,,  the  Rikken- 
Doshikwai.  now.  two  years  later,  the  dominant  part\  in 
the  I);et.  Striken  do\vn  wi:h  cancer  of  the  stomach, 
promoted  on  his  death-bed  t  >  th"  Order  ot  the  Imperial 
Chrysanthemum,  and  :<>  the  I-'ir-t  < 'onrt  Rank,  he  dp-,! 
at  midnight  «>n  th ••  niidit  of  Friday,  September  i  S.  ioi  ;,. 
Hi  tuneral  service  ua-  (onducted  a>  •  ordri;;  to  l'cii<lilhist 
rite-,  and  almost  a-  a  military  pa:;''-ant.  in  the  pre-en,  e 
ot  a  \a-t  (oncoiirs;-  at  the  Shojoii  Temple  at  Slnba, 
Iok\o.  So  ]ia--ed  one  ot  th'-  nio-t  remarkable  m<-n 
< 'i  a  rem.irk.ible  :;  -n-  ration,  xsho.  m  a'i'1  on!  ol  o!n>  e, 
:',o\crned  Japan  lor  (I..-i-  on  tuei\e  year-  bv  -In -er  loiie 
oi  in-,  i;on  will. 

A  man  ot  -tron:;  pa--;on  .  and  inn-n-e  ambition,  Kat- 
-i;ra  \\a-  hroti^ht  up  in  a  de-.jxitic  .itinosplicre.  whu  h 
1--I:  it-  -tamp  on  him  throu-hont  life.  \\'i:h  ht:le  bai  km.;, 
b,  h'-'T  energy  a:i  I  >  om  entration  oi  \\ill,  he  toped 
him  ell  into  [he  vry  t;o-:t  rank  oi  naiioiial  l-a  lets. 

'  '!      i  ompl'-'e      II!   I'M)  'ildeni  e     ot      '  liala-  ter,      h"      relied      o;i 

lnm-e!t    an  I   on   no  o;  e  •  1-.-.      A    do  ,\    :!  i:  k.  r   hi:;    a   born 
tighter,    on.    •    hi-    mini     u  a  •    mad'1    np    lie    kip;     on    hi- 

'  oil!     e     undeterred     b',      ,ili\     ob-;  a«   I''  -,     and     111  -     i  om     ; '     \\  .l> 

r.ti'ely    ;ha!    o!     !•  a   t    p--i^a:)<  \\'hil   :     li<-    lai.;.  I',     (on 

:;;bi:!ed  to  di«-  ;.,'o:,  ol  hi-  -onntr\.  lie  Icil-  re.  ke.l 
th ••  >  o-t  .  V:  ,i  •;  M  ia:  ol  an'o,  ta  ,  h  .  to.,,  h  id  to  bou 
tir'  kii'-e  to  mo  .  ••:]  ;d|pa  .  an  !  tip-  di-spot.  \\iio  to!  a 
hiC'-d  a:  .  in;!  ••  '1  tii'-  ma;  >  ].\  •  >l  di  nio,  M  .  di--d 
a  '  o;,\  f  ;  l  !o  ;i.i;  t  ,  :  'o\  i  i  niiii-:  : .  .1  -  o;  .1  ::  m  •'.  ]•  ><'  .1  l;;i  :;r  •• 


v,  lil     •  \    :     b-     a       .lit'    1 

..-.     a;  .i     i!  i    .     ui'boM     d 

ii   •  h     h-       \'.    i        •'.''(      j  ••    ,.;,  I 

till'      v. ;,  -;i     iic     lia  i      !o     i 


I'OUTICS  i-M 

terms  with  tin-  late  Sir  ('laude  MacOonald,  the  conver- 
sations were  always  in  (ierman,  the  only  foreign  lan^ua;,;e 
dl  which  tin-  lad-  Prince  wa-.  a  competent  master. 

No  two  mm  could  form  a  greater  contrast  than  Prince 
Katsura  and  Marquis  Saionji  did. 

Saionji  Kimmochi  was  born  0:1  <  )<  tober  2  >,  1^40.,  anr' 
\vas  the  son  of  the  thirtieth  A'//.','*'  "'  t'"'  house  of 
Tokudaiji,  one  of  the  noblest  families  of  the  Kyoto 
Court.  Ills  lm>ther,  Sanetsune,  succeeded  his  lather, 
and  became  the  last  Kni^c  of  the  line.  lie  served  the 
Imperial  family  previous  to  the  Restoration  and  became 
the  closest  personal  friend  and  attendant  of  the  Meiji 
Tenno,  to  whom  he  \\',i^  lor  loir.;  Cirand  (  hamberlain, 
and  until  the  Imperial  demise  in  1912  (irand  Keeper 
of  the  Imperial  Seals.  In  i<SS4,  on  the  institution  of 
the  peerage,  !ie  wa  <  create  1  .Mar(ju.i-.  and  in  1911  Prince. 

Kimmochi  married  the  Saionji  heiress  and  was  adopted 
as  heir  of  the  family,  bein^  created  Marquis  in  iSS-j. 
Scion  of  a  leading  Kyoto  family,  closely  involved  in 
the  mesh  of  intrigue  which  connected  the  C'ourt  and 
the  dissentient  tluinn'o,  and  himsell  of  a  precocious  di^- 
j-osition,  it  is  not  surprising-  that  at  an  earl\-  a.L;'e  Saionji 
himself  took  part  in  the  Imperial  councils  which  pre- 
ceded the  Restoration.  That  his  merits  were  consider- 
able may  be  judged  from  the  fact  that  at  nineteen  he 
commanded  one  of  the  Imperial  armies,  and  in  the, 
year  of  the  Restoration,  i8'><\,  he  was  appointed 
( lovcrnor  of  Niu;ata  Province. 

Immediately  the  Sho^un  had  retired  there  was  an 
exodus  from  Japan  ol  a  :H:III!KT  of  the  younger  men 
de-iious  of  studying  a'oroad  and  of  learning  aboui  ihe 
world.  Saionji  was  one  of  these.  In  i<Sf  g  he.  re.si^neil 
office  and  went  to  France,  and  liked  that  country  so 
much  that  he  remained  there  for  eleven  years.  It  was 
a  very  different  Saionji  who  returned  from  Paris  to  the 
aristocratic,  despoil'  \oun_;  man  who  had  i;one  there. 
It  was  in  Pari-  tha;  S.iionji  met  Nakae  t'homin  and 
Matsuda  Masahisa,  two  men  who  were  destined  to  con- 
siderably influence  his  life.  The  former  v.as  an  eccentric, 


U2  JAPAN    AT    T1IK    CROSS    ROAPS 

hard-drinking,  often  drunk,  literary  hack,  sent  to  1'aris 
to  study  French.  Malsuda  was  .1  xouii^  man  whose, 
talents  wen-  discovered  by  the  late  Marijiiis  Nalushiina, 
who  paid  his  rxp-nses  in  France  as  a  student.  N'akae 
ran  intellectually  wild,  einbiaced  Republi  an,  even  revo- 
lutionary principle-,  and  infected  Saionji  wich  Radii  al 
ionta;^ion.  .Mat.siula  equally  .s'udied  politic-,  in  the 
intervals  of  attending  lectures  on  law.  and  not  only 
became  a  capable  lawver  but  one  of  the  few  true  •  >n- 
stitutionalists  in  Japan.  It  may  be  imagined  that  asso- 
ciation with  a  red-hot  Radical  and  a  progressive  I.ib<ral 
in  Ri-publican  !•" ranee  in  the  strenuous  years  th  it 
succeeded  the  Franco-Prussian  War.  <  oiild  not  but  have 
an  etlri  !  on  Saion;fs  ii'-rvous  and  ima;_;;na'.  i\e  teia- 
perament.  As  a  result  hi-  \iews  when  he  returned  to 
[apan  were  a  shock  and  a  Sorrow  to  his  relatives  and 
superiors.  I'ndcteiTed  by  their  «>b\  ious  disapproval, 
in  <  onipany  with  N'akae  and  Mat-nda  he  start'-d  a 
new-paper  called  the  7'<>yii  Jivu  Slrinihun,  in  whi<h 
in  unmeasured  terms  he  d<  iiounced  the  <  'a::s  and  all  tii'-n 
works.  Saionji  ami  his  associates  ba->e«l  their  po!ri>al 
views  on  Rousseau's  (".out rut  Socuil,  and  then'  inte1  no;* 
was  to  agitate  for  the  creation  of  a  s;  tem  of  -ovein 
n.ent  founded  on  th"  rights  of  man  and  on  Ficm'n 
political  thought  oi  the  ei.; htee.nt !i  <  ejitury. 

In  th"  <  irdmarv  lourse  i:  \>, ould  not  have  brrn  ditin  ult 
for  the  auilioiuie^  to  nip  the  movement  in  the  bud, 
•uppivs-,  th"  newspaper,  and  deport  ;;!••  editors.  'I  he 

(oniieitlon     of     SalolijI     VV.tll     the     moveliie'it     made     this     a') 

awkward  ]  >t '  >\*>-  \',  i"ii .  Sanjo  and  ''ku^o  a;.;i:ed  kindly 
bu;  unav  ainn,.l>-  wrh  tin-  perver-e  aristocrat,  and  in- P, 
at  the  end  oi  t!i  ir  re  oarers,  tuine.l  him  n-.e:  to  (  >kunia, 
I  hen  I  I  ii;!>  Minister  .ill'  1  as  bin  eau*  rat  1C  a  -  anv  .  <  )'.  :  .a 
.o-.i./h:  to  persuade,  and  failed.  Me  then  iht<  item  d 
arie  ',  and  Saionji  ;;a\e  IM,  vv::hdi".v  !r.^  i;.iir-  tr.>m 
th"  'o'arnal,  and  ic'iied  to  the  orritiy  io  b\e  do\\n  In- 
reputation  Mr,:  lie  !o-t  iii>  ni-!  i  han  ot  :••  .  o-inn.; 
tamo'i  .  Nake  (  iioiirn  wa  <  \\>  \]<<l  tloni  th"  'api'a!. 
and  Mat  uda  b<  •  line  pp  id,  nt  o|  a  li!.,h  ho,  >!.  In 


I'oUTirs  143 

the  course  ol  time  Saionji  entered  the  ( io\  cninicut 
service,  where  his  t.itnily  and  talents  soon  marked  him 
out  for  rapid  promotion. 

Saioiiji  is  oiten  spoken  of,  outside  Japan  at  least, 
as  an  almost  unknown  man,  whereas  in  fact  he  has 
occupied  every  important  post  wlnVh  oilers  to  one  who 
is  neither  soldier  nor  sailor.  A  Vice-Senator  in  1881, 
he  accompanied  Ito  in  the  following  year  on  his  tour 
of  Kurope  and  America,  when  the  late  Prince  inve-,ti- 
gated  the  various  constitutional  systems  with  the  view 
of  drafting  the  Japanese  Constitution.  If  Saionji  still 
remained  a  believer  in  Rousseau'.-:,  doctrines  it  must 
have  been  galling  in  the  extreme  to  be  a  member  of 
a  commission  which  adopted  the  German  political  phil- 
osophy of  the  State.  It  seems  probable,  however,  that 
before  this  Saionji  had  abandoned  his  revolutionary 
\iews,  and  under  Ito's  influence  toned  down  into  a 
respectable  if  not  extreme  bureaucrat.  In  1885  he 
was  appointed  Minister  at  Vienna,  and  in  i8,S8 
\\as  transferred  to  Berlin.  His  residence  there  was 
marked  by  two  incidents.  The  first  was  his  intense 
dislike  of  the  city  and  of  the  people,  which  resulted 
in  prolonged  absences  spent  in  Paris,  so  prolonged, 
indeed,  that  he  h  id  to  be  summarily  recalled  to  his  post 
by  a  wire  from  Okuma,  then  Foreign  .Minister.  The 
second  was  his  negotiation  with  Count  Herbert  Bismarck 
of  a  treat}'  abolishing  extra-territoriality  in  Japan 
and  establishing  Mixed  Courts  for  the  trial  of  foreign 
accused.  The  premature  publication  of  the  text  of  the; 
treaty  by  The  Times  caused  a  great  popular  agitation, 
and  as  a  result  the  projx)sal  was  abandoned.  He 
returned  to  Japan  in  1891  and  was  appointed  Presi- 
dent of  the  Board  ot  Decorations.  In  1803,  when 
Mutsu  recommenced  negotiations  with  the  Powers  for 
the  revision  of  the  foreign  treaties,  lie  became  Yice- 
President  of  the  Code  Investigation  Committee  and  also 
Vice-President  of  the  House  of  Peers.  The  following- 
year  a  Privy  Councillor,  after  filling  various  offices  in 
the  medley  of  Cabinets  which  followed  the  war,  in  1900 


144  JAPAN    AT    THK    CROSS    ROADS 

he  ln-came  President  of  the  Privy  Council,  as  incumbent 
of  uhi'h  olti,  e  he  held  i'ie  Premiership  </(/  interim  on 
no  le-s  than  tine-  occasions.  in  i<;o>  he  vacated  the 
Piesidency  to  exchange  positions  with  the  late  Prime 
Ito  as  Uader  of  th  •  Sei\ukwai.  This  la^t  was  one 
of  the  most  important  mo\  es  on  the  political  chessboard. 
Ito  since  the  opening  of  the  century  had  completely 
;^one  o\  ( T  to  the  political  parties,  and  Saionn.  \\lio 
-nice  i,X;'j  had  been  his  c!o  -e  friend,  sympathi/.ed  \siih 
these  \iews.  To  crush  the  party  opposition  Ito  was 
shel\  ed  in  the  Pnvy  Council  and  Saionji.  his  most  accept  - 
ab'e  -ucce-sor.  led  th"  Se;;,uku,ii.  The  reason  \\as 
that  Saionji,  though  a  friend  of  Ito.  hacl  already  once 
been  proved  amenable  to  discipline.  Iio  was  not.  So 
amenable  did  the  former  >lmw  himself  that  from  !<yo> 
to  lo  i  4  the  Sei\  ukwai  supported  the  Kat  lira  rt^inic 
without  a  murmur.  In  [anuarv.  i<>o<>,  when  Kalsiira 
resigned.  Sa'onn  formed  h:s  firs;  Mini-try,  \\hnh  la-ted 
u:ilil  |uly,  loo".  liis  M-,  OI,d  la -ted  I'.oin  Atl;.'U-t.  lul  I, 
umil  December,  i<;i  2.  Sim  c  tin  n  he  ha-  b<  en  iti 
ret  ireiiient . 

Saion;i  is  one  of  the  most  cnriou-  conundrums  ,i|  any 
time,  and  <ertam!v  ;!ie  nio-t  i  urious  m  modern  Japan. 
lie  ha-  be-  n  desenh"d  a-  .1  bundle  of  i  out  radid  ions, 

and  lie  I'-iiali;  -.  i-,  U.'lles-,  1)  •  be  A-  ep'.ed  as  th"  lll'.ll 
pi'  (it  that  1,0  [apaiie-e  ta;e-;..a:i  ha-  aii\  led  pohti  al 

•  on  vii  t  !"!i-.       An   an- to:  rat,    m  h,    u  ith    tin-   In    he  -i    bai  {- 
in;;     in    ('our;    <  :r    a-  .    he    I) -came    e,ul\     in    lile   a    lantin;.; 
Kadlial,       Pa    !.    in     Japan    In-    abandoned    hi-    ;d".i!-    and 
\\  a      for    \  cars    as  ,oi  la  ted    \\  it  h    d  -  -])•  •;  ;•     bin  earn  :  at  i  -m  ; 
lin-n    he  (  on;:    d    In  -   i  our-      until    h"    bd  a::M-    '  -ad-  ;    "I    ti:e 

•  hi'-!     ion   t  itu:  i-  in  d     part ;. .    w  In  n     he    mi:;h;     i  <  a  -•  i  ,ai  <\\ 

|l  I  \  ' ;  b  e '  •  n  e  \  p  i  1 1  •  d  to  1 1  1  \  e  I  n  a  d '  •  o  III  P.  i  o  \  e  in  I  h  e 
i!;i>  ' :- 'II  of  i;iaii;..! :  a' in;;  |-a:t\  .''•'•'  '  i.ineiit  .  instead 
h.  d'-!l\  .  led  hi  jia!  t  \  ,  iionn  I  b  nl\  and  ••;!.  o\  ei  to 
|\  • '  ;  1 1 . i ,  i  h  •  '  1 1 ;  •  e :  i .  I  ;  > ;  i  r  <  a ; .  •  i . i >  \  , '  a  n  d  -  <  >  i  •  a  ! '  j » >  s 1 1 > I e 
that  tale  man'  <  • : :  d  t  •  : ,  t ;  i  e  o  I  .  < :  \  .  • .  I  1 1 1 .  i  .  .  I  a  ;  a  I  n 
Premier,  !)•-  ma!'-.,n-  h  h'.  and  wii'-:i  uoi  ted  \\ithdri\\ 
i  l  on  i  the  1 1  a'.  . 


POLITICS  145 

What  is  the  reason  that  a  man  with  all  his  advantages 
of  birth,  wealth,  and  influence,  of  great  intelligence  and 
fine  scholarship,  should  pnne  really  a  failure'/  Regarded 
as  an  advocate  oi  liberty  and  freedom,  in  and  out  of 
office  he  has  proved  himself  an  absolutist,  An  aristocrat 
to  the  marrow,  there  are  few  of  his  political  speei  lies 
which  do  not  smack  of  the  plebeian.  He  condemns 
<lisplay  as  vulgar,  but  advises  |>ohlician->  to  ad\ ertise. 
He  denounces  intiigue  and  show,  retires  to  his  \illa 
at  Kyoto,  where  he  poses  in  the  role  of  the  'ascetic 
hermit,'  whilst  some  of  the  most  notorious  schemers 
in  Japan  are.  in  his  following.  lie  used  to  abu  .<•  the 
clans  but  adopted  a  Mori  for  his  heir,  and  made  an 
alliance  with  Katsura  that  checked  the  advance  of 
democracy  for  a  decade.  Why  all  these  paradoxes? 

The  truth  is  that  Saionji  is  a  Rosebery  and  a 
I.ucullus  combined.  lie  is  fond  of  luxury,  ease, 
pleasure,  gaiety,  scholarship,  literature,  music,  and  line 
art  ;  he  detests  work  ;  he  has  no  ambition  and  few, 
if  any,  convictions.  Rumour  has  it  that  he  is  -writing 
a  book.  Certain  it  is  that  the  book  will  never  be 
written,  for  he  knows  so  much  theoretically  that  he 
knows  but  little  practically,  lie  has  had  one  enthusiasm 
in  his  life,  and  (  >kuma  killed  it  in  iS.So.  He  is  the 
most  obliging  man  in  Japan.  K\ery  office  he  has  held 
he  has  accepted  not  because  he  \\anted  it  but  Ix-cau-e 
some  one  else  wanted  him  to  take  it.  lie  became 
leader  ot  the  Sciyukwai  to  oblige  ho.  and  Pivmiei 
in  I  <.;oo  to  oblige  Katsura.  Hi1  went  cut  in  i<iu~ 
to  oblige  him  once  more.  He  accepted  the  Premier- 
ship in  i  <;  i  i  to  oblige1  Marquis  Inouye.  I  he  only 
time  he  refused  to  oblige  anybody  was  \\hen  he  \\cni 
out  in  1912,  and  by  then  he  was  frankiy  sick  i>f 
tin-  cares  of  office. 

The  Marquis  appears  to  be  without  convictions.  He 
wanted  to  be  a  Radical  Democrat,  and  as  the  powers 
that  were  peremptorily  forbad  it  he  has  refu.-ed  to 
be  anything  at.  all.  He  never  yet  dratted  a  policy  of 
his  own.  In  looo  Katsura  did  it  tor  him.  e\  en  down 

10 


146  JAPAN    AT    TilK    CROSS    KoADS 

to  his  I'tid'.;e(  :  in  i  <;  i  i  Inouye  A\  rote  it  and  Yamanioto 
Tat-uo  i  arried  it  out.  There  used  to  be  a  -on.;  on  the 
London  mu-ic-halls  about  a  '  tired  '  man.  1  he  Marquis 
i-  the  '  tired  '  man  ot  fapan.  l-'ar  happier  amongst 
hi-  pi  Hire---,  hi-  curio-,  and  hi-,  manuscript-,  lie  i-  frankly 
bored  with  the  selfishness,  the  corruption,  and  the  in- 
tii;_;ue  of  the  /\(tsurni-if(iM'ki .  Brimful  of  all  j;«'!itiial 
theone-,  h'  has  n-.ili/ed  that  in  Ja».m  the\  mu-'  still 
remain  theoii--.  Ki  h,  he  does  not  -uorry  about  mone\ . 
so  much  so  thai  hi-  brother,  Maron  Sumitomo,  manages 
his  a  Hairs,  and  even  pay.s  his  bill,.  A-  \  >  leading  the 
St  iyukwai.  once  or  twice  a  \ear  In-  de!i\e:cd  a  p'-r- 
iun<  lory  addre-s,  but  left  all  active  management  to  llara 
Kei.  the  manager,  and  to  Mat-uda  Mi  ahi-a.  the  clian  - 
man  of  committee.  If  am  one  told  him  thai  hi- 
followers  wer<-  a  band  oi  thieves  and  ru'iian-  it  rai-ed 
a  -mile,  but  certainly  no  interest. 

In    I'rince  Yama.,aia   he  had,  and  has,  a  .-.iron;;  enemy. 
The     Liberal    prim  i|  It  -    he     brought     irom    Fran,  e    weie 
red    ra;.;s    to    the    veierin    of    odawara,    and    in    addition 
Saionji    followed    I  to    and    hi-    semi-consimitional    nlca- 
rather    than    the    extreme    view,    of    the    militari-!    c  lan-- 
men.       'i'o    make    matter-    worse,    Saionji    ha-    ne\er    paid 
fli-tfi'-ii'e    t"    \'ama;;ata.    uhi'h     in    \i.-\\    <.t    jhe    fornr-r's 
ain  ienl     lineage    and    In.di    rank    i-    \\.ll    understandable 
At    ;li'-    di-adiii  d    oi    'hf    Mf|i     ICii'iii    h-    e\en     lio'.if. 
Iran.   ^i\  MIL;    t  !"•  d  •  '<  lor--    f  re  f  d>  .in   t '  om   I  radii  imial    '    ;  •  i  • 
in     handlin:;     th  •     !':  \>    rial     pati'-iil.     and     a    iio-a  n  if 
if  m[»fl  a!  U:  e,     pu!    e.     i  oil' ii;  n  ill.     .Hid     dfa!a     a ->     ihj'll'.di     h' 
ui  i'f    but    i  oninii  ii    <'..-.. 

."•aloliji     \',  ill    Hot    ;.;o    dn\\a    to    po  .(ei:!\     a-    a    .'I'f.ll     i'l.in 
1  I  f    ha      rie\'el    dolif    aii\  1  h:n;;    bi  ; ,    he    ha  •    li.'\  (   !    <  i-   .  .   'i-ip.'tj 
a     poll,  y .        1 1     hf     ha-    an;,     «  on\  ii  :  ion       h-      hi       ;:o; 
i  '  i  a  i  a . "  •    to    -land    up    lor    1 1 1  >  •  n  i .       I  I  •  •    ha      I ."  '  d    on          a 
i    !a\  our,    h'  •    h  •  .    q'lit  :<    1    l'     '.'.  .:h    :     ii    I          \\  :      'i    i.  l  :  '  » 

i  ft  u  i  •'  1  to  (.'»••,  an  I  n;:  f  i  ia!  Ke-,.  rip*  ia  I  • ;  i  ;  in  look 
the  bianif  on  h'm  -  1:  a-.d  ill--  •  -;  ;>oi  :u-i,!  .  .  \;,-  \>  MD 

p'lMl-        lit-  I  ;      Ua         !)'  '       -a-    1  111'   f,     1"!      !',;         l;.r:      1         Ii'  '1. 

and    iif .  el    ha     i  ••  •  n,    m     I  •  >k\   •        Ad>      i-ndaiit    of    thn  :\ 


POLITICS  1.17 

one  generations  of  Kugc,  the  prodiu  t  of  centuries  of 
elf  eminism,  the  natural  growth  of  age-,  of  cloistered 
seclusion,  it  is  certain  that  Saionji  Kimmochi,  the  aris- 
tocratic reclu-e,  is  happiest  dreaming  Utopias  in  his 
villa  at  Kyoto.  Ili^  decision  was  a  lo-,s  to  his  country, 
for  a  man  even  without  ambition  but  with  transparent 
honesty  of  action  and  purpose  i>  not  easily  to  be  spared. 
His  partisans  ascribe  hi-,  failure  to  Yamagata's  malevo- 
lence.  If  he  ever  thinks  of  it  he  himself  might  a  ><  ribe 
it  to  ()kuma.  In  reality  it  was  due  to  his  own  lack 
of  definition.  The  weakness  of  his  character  and  his 
amiable  facility  for  obliging  others  will  mark  him  out 
only  as  a  might-have-been  on  the  pages  of  history. 

The  composition  of  the  second  Saionji  Cabinet1  was 
proof  sufficient  of  the  poor  state  of  party  politics  in 
Japan,  and  in  especial  of  the  state  of  the  Seiyukwai. 
As  head  of  that  party  and  unfettered  by  the  inheritance 
of  a  definite  programme  from  his  predecessor,  as  had 
been  the  case  in  I  <;oo,  it  might  reasonably  have  been 
expected  that  Saionji  would  form  a  party  Cabinet,  ex- 
cepting of  course  the  Ministers  of  \Yar  and  the  Navy, 
still  the  nominees  oi  the  two  clans  through  the  Kmperor. 
<>u!y  three  portfolios  were,  however,  allotted  to  the 
Seiyukwai,  and  of  these  two  were  held  by  Hara  and 
Matsuda,  men  \\l\o  had  been  long  associated  with 
bureaucracy.  That  not  more  were  given  was  due  to 
the  party's  lack  oi  men  of  even  ordinary  probity  and 
respectability.  More  striking  still,  the  two  departments 
of  Communications  and  Agriculture  and  Commerce  were 

1    1'nmuT      M  ;r  ]!'.is  S.iioiiji 

Mini- !'•:'  ct   Kureii*!!  AltaTS    Yi>c<nint  I'ciml.i 

I  limn.'  A  Hairs    Mr.  !  l.ir:i 

Ki:i:c.KV Mr.  T.it-uo  Y.i:r,a;n  "! •• 

\\'.ir    I'i.ii'(.ni  IsiiiiiHiio,  II.IMMI 

X.ivy  Baron  Saito 

A^ncul'c.iic   \'   l'i)ni:iHTi.x'    r..ir,>n  M.ikiin) 

C«>!nr.iuiii>.-.itit>ii-  C'":'.n;   iliv.i,-hi 

Kducalion  ..  .   Mr.  tl.i.-L'!\i 


i4»  JAPAN    AT   THE   CROSS    ROADS 

specially  entrusted  to  Ilayashi  ami  Makino,  as  being 
men  whosf  personal  integrity  would  be  a  guarantee 
against  a  continuance  ot  the  corruj)tion  and  ^raft  which 
rmvloju-d  those  two  insiitutions.  Of  the  individual 
members  Haya.shi  had  previously  served  as  Foreign 
Minister,  but  had  so  provoked  the  clan  wrath  by  his 
sturdy  independence  on  the  Manchurian  question  that 
its  portals  wen-  closed  to  him.  Makino,  a  son  of  the 
great  Okubo,  had  been  Minister  of  Education,  whilst 
H.ira  and  Matsuda  returned  to  their  former  posts. 
Yamamoto  was  the  unknown  (juantity  of  the  Cabinet. 
Of  none  of  the  others  much  was  expected.  Ilayashi 
in  his  new  berth  had  no  scope  for  his  diplomatic  talents, 
anil  neither  Matsuda,  Haseba,  I'chida,  nor  Makino  were 
men  of  much  energy  or  initiative.  Events  fully  ])roved 
the  correctness  of  the  popular  anticipations,  and  for 
all  the  impres.sion  that  any  one  of  them  has  given  to 
hi-  department  the  apjxmitinents  might  just  as  well 
have,  bem  K-ft  unfilled. 

Ishimoto,  uho  died  in  April,  1012,  and  was  succeeded 
by  Haron  I'ehara.  and  Saito  as  the  nominees  ol  (  hoshu 
and  Satsuma.  fulfilled  their  u.siial  roles,  demanding  the 
largest  possible  appropriations  for  the  Army  and  Navy, 
liar. i  as  manager  of  the  Seiyukwai  held  a  rather  more 
imjiortant  p-o-.it i<m  than  any  ot  his  colleagues. 

'I  In-  th'-n  leader  of  the  Seivukvvai  and  one  of  the 
mo-t  j)owerful  personalities  in  Japanese  jmhtK  •  was  born 
in  1^54  at  Morioka.  He  studied  law  in  the  college 
atiathevl  to  the  I)epartment  ot  Ju-tnc,  but,  i  omin^  lo 
the  eon<  lu-ion  that  an  oliice  career  had  little  to  otter 
him,  abandoned  his  lectures  and  entered  tree-lance 
journaii  in.  This  \va-.  at  the  time  whi-n  tin-  early  (on- 
tuu'ioi'ali  t^  were  b'-;;imii:ij.;  their  press  agitation,  and 
in  i. So  h-  joined  th"  ^ta!t  ot  the  Ynl'in  I  lot  hi  .\/i.rn/>un, 
:n  the  (olumn^  of  \\hnh  paper  Inukai  Ki.  I'.aki  N'ukio. 
Nakae  ('homin,  and  o'her  reformers  were  lien  ely  aila'k- 
1111;  th"  ai/u  e,  ot  clan  government.  Il.ua  addeil  In - 
pip«-  t>  the  ion  ,-rt,  but  though  lie  \\M  .  a  s^ilj'jj  ,l!1(| 
eiier.;etii  jilaver  lie  fnund  that  he  ua,  onl\  a  member, 


POLITICS  149 

and  an  insignificant  one  at  that,  of  a  large  orchestra, 
and  with  little  chance  of  early  promotion  to  the  rank 
of  soloist.  With  startling  rapidity  he  abandoned  his 
progressive  principles,  accepted  baptism  in  the  creed 
of  ultra-bureaucracy,  and  became  editor  of  a  (loyo 
Shimhuri  (official  organ  >  started  by  the  clans  to  combat 
the  democrats.  He  was  attached  as  olVn  ial  reporter 
to  the  Japanese  Mission  to  Korea,  and  thus  came  into 
touch  with  the  late  Marquis  Inouye,  then  Foreign 
Minister.  The  latter  recogni/.ed  his  business  ability  and 
offered  him  a  post  in  the  Foreign  Office,  as  well  as 
arranging  a  marriage  with  his  stepdaughter.  In  18X4 
he  was  promoted  to  be  Consul  at  Tientsin,  a  post  which 
he  held  during  the  I  to  mission,  which  concluded  with 
the  signature  of  the  Convention  of  Tientsin.  From 
that  time  his  future  was  assured.  lie  was  connected 
by  marriage  with  both  Inouye  and  Ito,  a  relationship 
which,  coupled  with  his  ability,  ensured  rapid  progress. 
He  served  a  period  as  Secretary  of  Legation  and  Charge 
d'Affaires  at  Paris,  but  returned  to  Japan  when  Inouye 
resigned  the  Ministry  of  Foreign  Affairs  after  the  failure 
of  the  treaty  revisions.  On  his  patron  filling  the  Ministry 
of  Agriculture  he  took  the  post  of  private  secretary, 
and  was  transferred  with  the  portfolio  to  Mutsu  when 
the  latter  succeeded  to  the  office. 

The  association  between  Inouye,  Ito,  Mutsu,  and  Hara 
was  a  very  striking  one.  Inouye  frankly  had  no  delu- 
sions on  the  question  of  politics.  lie  strongly  approved 
of  the  clan  government  as  best  suited  to  the  needs  of 
the  moment  and  because  there  was  nothing  to  replace 
it.  On  the  other  hand,  he  could  see  that  with  increasing 
progress  and  extending  knowledge  the  popular  demand 
for  a  share  in  the  administration  would  have  to  be 
admitted.  Ito  was  an  opportunist.  He  had  too  many 
enemies  in  high  places  to  jx'rmit  of  his  openly  embracing 
party  views,  besides  which  he  was  too  much  of  a  (Ian- 
bureaucrat  to  sacrifice  the  official  predominance;  on  the 
altar  of  democracy.  Like  Inouye  he  recognized  a  con- 
cession to  be  necessary,  but  he  adopted  the  German 


150  JAl'AN    AT    TIIK    CROSS    ROADS 

ilortrini'S  whieh  ( onrrd-d  nothing  to  ih>-  |>  -oplr  and 
<-ver\  thin-,  to  the  State  as  a  satisfactory  evi'  fnun  ihe 
//.•//•<;.vsf.  At  th"  -am-  tini'-,  thoii_;h  ac:ive'y  an:;-d  ino- 
crat!'\  liodi  Ito  and  In  iiiyr  were  pa->;\e!y  -ympathrli' 
toward--  the  popular  niovein' nt-.  i  hev  eave  pe-  luir'torv 
lMi;ed'e;iin-  to  Ita.:aki  and  <  'kuma.  Int  more  than  thai 
th-\  drew  r  Hind  them  in  •:)  like  Mnt-u.  Saioiiji,  IIa:a. 
Mat-uda,  <  >i  hi,  M  >ii.  and  other-,  .md  v,h:!-t  ad.  r.xin;.; 
them  in  otn  •'•  un  1  th ••  art-  ot  ;.;o\  eminent  eiea'.ed  .t 
t  la-s  ot  party  po'i-.j,  ian-  who  niK;ht  in  the  tutnie  lie 
relied  on  to  aet  a-  a  hrak,-  on  any  ati-'injit  «l  'h 
extreini-ts  to  >tainp'ed'-  the  country  in  the  •  ai:-e  o! 
ileni'  n  ra^  y . 

To  return  to  the  -uSj'-et  of  this  -kei,  h.  Ila-a  fod<  \\  i  d 
Mnt-u  to  the  Foreign  <  M'lice.  !»• :•<-,  t>,\'-}  -  l)ir,eior  .,!  the 
(  onirnrn  ial  Bureau,  and,  att-r  lia\a-!'!  1  adasu  >  .ij>- 
pointmcnt  a-  Mini  ter  to  1'i-kin.  \i  e  Mi-.i  t  r  ot  I''oniMi 
Aliairs.  It  wa-  in  the-e  po-itioii^  tha:  iiaia  di>[;!'i\ed 
nio-t  hrilli  int  1\'  hi-  IniMii'-s-.  a!)i!itie-.  \\'!ie;i  ,M;;t-n  »!ie<! 
llar.i  re-i;jned  ollicf,  and  on  a  hint  trom  Ito  \\<-;,i 
haek  to  journa'i-ni  a>  oli'.or  ot  the  ()*tikn  M.;iu:ch; 
Slutnl/un.  a  -turdy  or;;an  ot  i  on-;  it'in  >:  ,ii  _L,O\  i -r;  men: , 
and  one  ot  th"  m>-t  \vid ••!••,-  lead  ni-'.v-paj'rr^  in  l.iian. 
Strau-  ucre  a'read\"  >ho\',:n.;  ;h<-  dire'  tio:i  ot  the  v.  md. 
and  it  \'.a>  no  Mirpiie  \\  h  n  iti  lornied  ;he  Sei\u- 
kwai  in  i'>'>'>  to  find  ii.i-'.L  a->  one  o!  ;he  mana 
'Ihe  -am'1  year  h"  wen:  in:  <  th  •  C,i!  ••:  <  t  . -s  M ;:.-:,  i 
nt  Cominuni  at  ion  i  in  '-i:  -:on  to  !  I . .  !n  I'ura .  <  '  : 
the  i.iil  ot  the  h  .  (  ',i'>in  -:  he  d  »-i!»l--'l  th  •  «••! 
ot  ;!ie  ( t^(ii,.!i  .S /.'//.•,'/  ti  u:;!i  :!:•-  i::  r^.,  ;  t,\  ;h. 

patt'/.  I  !'•  ua-  M  i;  i  n  i  •  t  I  !om<  A:  .;if  - 
ihe  Sai1  HI  ;i  (  'aoi;i'-t- ,  and  <.n  lh-  i .  I  :n  n-e-  !  .  .1 
Sal'  'ii  i  in  i  •/  i  ;  1"  anie  in  i  ani'-  \\ !;  it  h  had  n 

'i  >!:/,     li'-en.     !•    e  !•  r     ot      the     Se;  .  •;'.  v,  a!  . 

Jlar.i    !<••:.    i;:."    th-    la'--    I':;n   .•    k  -.:   :.M 

JM,!;-|    d  tho-i  dit .      I  !••  i  .  a     •: 

o!       -i  <  M       r«   «•     .  •  .1..  !     .  ..n 


I'OLITICS  151 

to  avoid  rocks  and  shoals.  lie  has  de<  ided  views  both 
on  policy  ainl  admini  .tration,  and  once  lie  had  risen  to 
positions  of  authority  lie  knew  how  to  impress  tho,<- 
views  on  his  superior-..  In  the  two  Saionji  Cabinet-, 
he  \vas  certainly  the  dominating  per-on.dity,  so  mn- h 
s<»  that  the  Japanese  nicknamed  ih'-m  '  llara's  <'abi- 
nets.'  ilioirji  as  regards  hi,  per-onal  po-ition  In-, 
career  has  been  a  success,  the  same  c.miiot  be  s.cd  of 
the  parly  of  wh'ch  he  is  now  th-1  acknowledged  head. 
It  ever  theic  was  a  i;':in!-''  ()'  th;e\e>  out  for  boodle 
i;  was  the  Seiyukwai  during  th--  years  that  succeeded 
the  Russian  \\'ai'.  It  is  the  conduct  of  his  part}'  which 
has  made  1  Lira's  name  mud  in  Japan,  for  lie  H  even- 
tually the  responsible  person,  and  has  never  made  any 
effort  to  check  the  corruption  and  the  blackmail  wh:<  h 
is  rampant  through  its  ranks.  Such  incidents  as  the 
Klectric  Li^ht  Charier,  the  Tramway  Municipali/ation, 
and  the  Katsura  entente  clearl}'  demonstrated  the  im'qui- 
ties  of  this  Japanese  Tamilian}  I  ball.  Th"  Seiyuk\vai 
simp]}-  put  up  its  services  to  auction,  and  the  price  was 
cash  and  concessions.  The  most  illuminating  proof  of 
the  unlitness  of  the  part}'  was  the  refusal  of  Saionji 
and  Ilara  to  admit  more  than  three  of  KS  members  to 
office. 

Against  Ilara  himself  no  charge  of  immorality  has 
e\er  been  brought.  A  rich  man  himself,  he  receives 
li.pouo  jier  annum  as  adviser  to  the  Furukaua  family 
in  adilition  to  his  salary  from  the  part}'  and  his  own 
resources.  No  bi\ath  oi  si;spicioii  has  cvc'i'  dimmed 
his  personal  reputation  for  integrity.  \"et,  like  (  >ura, 
an  equally  honest  man,  he  has  throughout  his  party 
career  been  the  leader  ol  a  band  of  rascals  to  whom 
public  funds  and  public  requirements  are  the  natural 
avenues  to  Wt  a'th. 

It  is  an  extraordinary  thine;  in  Japan  that  most  of 
the  political  leaders  are  comparatively  hi^h-minded  and 
honest,  but  they  have  been  forced  to  -wink  at,  and 
even  on  occasions  to  encourage,  the  vilest  ptactices 
by  their  supporters,  owine,  to  the  constant  necessity 


152  JAPAN    AT    TIIK    CROSS    ROADS 

of  recruiting,  rewarding  the  recruits,  ard  of  meeting  the 
bribery  and  corruption  practised  by  the  clans  in  their 
ti^ht  against  the  people.  In  a  country  where  neither 
the  public  conscience  nor  the  public  funds  are  strictly 
regarded,  it  is  only  n.ttuial  that  politics  should  be  a 
welter  of  tilth. 

I  he  ques'.loii  inav  be  a--k'-d,  '  \\'helice  come  the  lunds 
»t  the  politician-?'  The  linanci.d  requirements  of  .1 
party  are  extremely  lar^e,  and  it  onlv  C  I  on  \\as  ^i\en 
by  each  headquarters  to  each  ol  its  candidates  sonic 
Yo.oo.ooo  \\ouhl  be  required  at  every  election.  K:i<  h 
party  contains  some  rich  men  who  L'Jve  of  their  abund- 
ance. J-'.ach  party  contains  some  men  who  though  not 
i  'i<  h  theniseh  es  handle  money,  and  these  arc  able  to 
obtain  considerable  contributions  in  return  for  the 
support  ot  the  party  to  their  schemes.  A  writer  on 
tin-,  subject  in  the  7'<iivo  says  :  "  In  the  Seiyukwai 
there  are  individual  numbers  who  are  known  to  be 
very  wealthy.  Mr.  K  .  <>ka/aki,  for  <  -sample,  himself 
ha>  a  toruine  of  halt  a  million,  and  in  addition  tho 
ba-  kmv,  ot  the  Furukawas,  th|-  copjier  millionaires,  lint 
Mr.  <>k.i/al;t  i-  not  well  known  for  j^enerosits  .  Mr. 
Satake,  i're.ident  ot  iln-  Tokyo  I'Ji-'tric  Li-ht  ('oiii- 
p.nr,  ,  is  v.e]|  known  to  ha\e  \  ^.ooo.ocx)  and  his  nun 
li'li  family,  tip-  Ko-hn,  behind  him.  Mr.  I'.okiishin  <  )i, 
ot  <»-aka.  is  another  n  h  man  \\lio  has  coiitrihuted 
treely.  'I  hi-  Sumromo  iamiK  annually  put  \  ^o.ooo 
at  the  d:  po  ,a!  <it  Mai  ;uis  Saion|i,  whr  h  sum  heir.ui--- 
let's  to  the  part}'.  Mr.  Mara  Kei,  as  advisei  to  tli<- 
l-iiruk.iwa,  di'au^  an  annn  d  allowaiii  >'  ot  N'^n.oo'  .  but 
tin-  i  -.  |»aid  lo  Mr.  I  1  a  ra  |/<-i  '-ona  II  \  .  and  it  an\  i- 
pa.d  to  tli<-  Si  ivukuai  i;  i  not  a  family  aliair.  tot 
:h'-  I  iirukaua-.  li.c.e  a  fainlly  law  li"t  lo  support  poli'ii  al 
p  irtie-,." 

Hi--  imp'irtance  of  linances  in  |Hilni'al  lit'-  is  thai 
i  on!  ri  but  10  i  i  i  .(  lar.;e  sum-,  are  a  bl'-  noi  oti  l\  to  mliui  \\<  e 


pro;;  r.  m  n  1  11  •  nn  t\-n  !••  <  <  imt.--  1--\  ie\-ri  •-••  it.  n 
n  a  p»  r  on  doc  ;..  .!  ,u'>-  lib"  to  a  pal  t  \  he<  all  -e 
|)pro\  e  i;  .  p'.c  t  inn  .  <  >n  t  h«-  i  onti  ar\  ,  \\  hen  a 


POLITICS  153 

party  is  seen  to  he  in  funds  many  jx-rsons  subscribe 
to  its  principles.  The  most  dangerous  influence  the  few 
genuine  patriots  have  to  fight  is  that  of  money.  The 
only  group  which  i-.  not  subject  to  the  gold  stream  is 
the  Nationalist  with  Mr.  Inukai  at  its  head.  When  ihe 
Tosa-Iwasaki  ^ei  lion  of  it  demanded  an  entente  with 
Katsura  on  the  -ani"  lines  as  the  Seiyukwai  had,  the 
necessary  funds  to  shut  out  the  dissidents  were  raided 
by  a  whip  round  the  loyal  members  of  the  party  and 
YSo.ooo  was  paid  in,  though  the  members  are  mostly 
|>f)or  men  but  men  whose  principles  are  above  their 
pockets. 

One  method  adopted  to  raise  the  wind  has  been  to 
start  a  commercial  undertaking,  buy  the  share.*  issue 
with  borrowed  money,  and  when  the  stock  had  been 
sufficiently  boomed  to  unload  on  the  public,  placing1  the 
profit  to  the  credit  of  the  party  funds. 

Both  individual  members  and  parties  receive  con- 
siderable sums  from  corporations  and  the  great  business 
linns,  \vho  in  return  control  their  voting  on  questions 
affecting  their  interests.  In  njoS  the  Fujimoto  Bank 
failed,  and  as  a  result  of  a  complaint  from  the  British 
Ambassador  a  searching  investigation  ensued,  which 
showed  that  a  sum  of  Y  120,100  had  been  paid  by 
the  directors  of  the  Dai  Nippon  Sugar  Company 
to  members  of  the  Seiyukwai  to  induce  the  party 
to  approve  a  measure  creating  a  State  monopoly  of 
sugar. 

The  municipali'/ation  of  the  Tokyo  tramways  in  1912 
was  the  result  of  a  measure  introduced  by  the  Katsura 
Cabinet,  firstly  that  the  foreign  loan  floated  in  London 
might  be  available  to  bolster  up  the  specie  reserve, 
and  secondly  that  the  proprietors  might  be  eased  of 
their  burden.  It  was  estimated  that  the  Seiyukwai 
touched  \'395,ooo  over  this  transaction. 

When  the  Sciyukwai  supported  Sat^uma  to  turn  out 
the  third  Katsura  Cabinet  the  Navy  paid  Y  150,000  to 
the  part}1  and  individual  members,  whilst  Katsura  spent 
Yj4,ooo  of  public  funds  from  the  Secret  Service  account 


154  JAPAN    AT    T11K    CKOSS    ROADS 

and    some    YJ^O.OOO    of    hi,    emu    m"i'ey    in    forming    a 
party     to    nnjv^e    them. 

Tin    sJiipljuililiiii;  romp;.mes  and  armament   linn-  have 

-pent    a    lot    of   money   0:1   ;.;eltin^    the    iia\al  and    military 

pro-.;  famine-,     passed.       A     rotr  i«!(" able     j»on:on     <if     tlr- 

i  on  .in  |  , -.oils        (  \po   •  (1     ;n     ill-     \'.i\  ,il     Si  .r  :<  1  :l     o|      I  o  I  .} 

V.iTr    III'<   !Iili   d    .liitl    U.   1'r    I!    I'll    I'M'    lil'li!'   !)i    I!!';    p. lit'.     .!<    tl'>!l-- 

1:1    tin-    I>iet. 

I  :i      I  <  >  I  J     ail'!      i  <  j  I   ",     .1     I   i  en.  h     arm  illl'Mil     li;  i;;     u.i- 
anxious    lor    the    pnv;!   ;.;e    of     -u!)-rri!)i:ii'    :  )    th«-    Sri.u 
k\\ai    and    it-    < -iroM.il-.    o!    lilim;    \\\  •    ordi-r^    for   -'iin   . 
lh"     M  hcnic,    curiously    cnotr.Ji,    caun'    lo    noa:  iii.     In? 
ih'  r>-  \\a-  .m  umlrrs'amliir,;  in  i-<>:inc''tio:i  \\:t'i  the  .\nvj 
fajiani'-c    A!l:a;i(   •    that    a    ivrtain    pr  ij)ort:o:i    of     J.IJMM'- 
torci^n    annaincni    ordrrs    r-hall    he    ]il  r  --d    i:i     Mnijand, 
.Mid    the   iH"V-v>ary    >tcp-    wi-n-   taken   to    up-i  t    th--  (i.ill;. 
,ip;;!:i  an! .        In    tail,    th'-    Lower    Ilmi-c    i:i    J.ipan    as    a 
rule     represents    e\'cr\     int'-ri--t    e\''ej,t    th--    pu'ili.-. 

I'rihery    i-    at    present    a    sv/r    n;;j    nun    •  I    pi'iiii'--    ri 
[.ipan.     \\hi-tln-r     part:!--    or     ind:\  ui;;.i'--     an      (oueinied. 
!n     ioi  ;,    .if'jer    Kat-i'.ra    !--;l    ;!'.    I'..i!o:i    ( loto    stuuijted 
ill'-    eountr\     on    In-h.tlt    of    hi      party,    th"    lofni.it  inn    "I 
di"    nu-'l  u-,    ot    \\hii  h    '  o  -t    N'^oo.ooo     and      <»nie    more. 
Ihe     Ij.iron    --aid    i!    was    mij>'«    -:'ile    to    •  o    MM    ui'h    tin 
p.irsy    un!'--s    Y  i. 000,000    \\i-re    p;;t    ;:M    |nr    c\' /<•;)<  !••- 
\\  h\  '.'        niivioii   !y     l!ie     inilh.'ii     v,.i-      ua-ited     to      |>II'H- 
'•'•'•'  T-      ,Mid      \'.  i  r. i!d    '  >"     <  !•   -   T: 'T..         ,\        ||o 
'<>    tin  '.    the    n.ii<i:i    uith    th;>     'i:.i    h-    ;•     .    n> 
\.  \\\\  . 


c.  •  r    ;       \'  l  <  '  o    •  .  .in  I     n   n  a:    .    •  i  MI   '  I  ;:••'!'  '<•     dv .  .irn 
!'i    \     ;  oo1    o.         lh       //./',  \'t  i    A  '•(  /  /    ,\ ','/•/,/'     S  ';  in  !•::!!    I'i     Mr. 

I    ;  "  J.      .H  !    .      "    I  h'     i;   !.<.!..'  oi     ;;i      p.  o;   !      if    l!,-- 

. i';d    t iai'  tion    ol    i  o'i-t  I'u'  i  -n.il    ;•'  >\  <  :".\\\.-  n:     I  .t      i     id: 
in    !  IP-    pi  e  .  .1  !••;!•)•    lit    1  ii ;!  ii  r\    and    >    >i  •        '.:•>:[.        1  i.      1 1 ;  :i 
I'M   on    (• .  r  '  h         : '-  it    n  u.-'i  ><  i    .if    \  :.  i'.ii  j.  i     .   »\   '         I  . '      •  •  •• 

'    •'  -  . - 


I'oUTICS  "55 


person  who  v.  il!  a>  knowledge  tlnir  services.  In 
a  vote  \\  a  .  \\<:;th  i-i;;]it  vrii,  i:i  I  t)  l  .'  :!  \\.is  worih 
I'ouneen."  Not  only  is  biib'Ty  rampant  l)r.  I'ehara 
ealls  il  '  ;:<•!]<•!•.•  !  '/in  even  int  amida1  ion  is  ;  on  .tain  ly 
tv-orted  i').  I  n  number  a  ca-e  al  \\a!.a\ania  ai  \<)\2 
where  the  Sri\u!:wai  eandidaie  \\-  Id  dr  pollinv'.-bnoth 
at  the  point  ol  the  |>i  to',  on!\  admit  ;  in;.;  hi.-,  ov.n  Mip 
poiter--.  N'o!>od\  aUnrij)t:-i!  !o  aircst  him.  Ahhon^h 
thi^  year  (  l  <;  I  ^  )  the  Mi'ii..ir\  ha  n;.;orou-,!y  asserted 
the  l,i\\,  charge-,  <>l  i)i'ih.Tv  ha\e  heen  stj  frequent  in 
the  !a\\-  Ii--ts  as  to  leav.-  no  dotiiSt  that  the  ivnera! 
eoiuhtions  are  unchriM^cd. 

It    is   unre  .sonahle   to    blame   the   people    lor   tin.-,  Male 
of   affairs,      din-   (  i.  )\\'ni!nen!   alone  is   re-onsilile.      The 


has  hi'i'ti  to  mininnxe  the  po\v  T  ot  the  Hid  and  the 
importance  of  the  i  "ranehi.-e.  '1  he  \"oter  }}.(-,  no  idea 
of  polities,  or  even  of  thi-  politi<-al  nieani!:;.;'  i-f  lii.s 
act.  l!is  vote  has  no  political  \~alu'1  \\'!iale\  cr  ;  n 
repi'c-^c'iits  a  possible  avenue  to  a  litt!;-  ea-h  ii  adroit!\- 
and  secretively  used.  d  he  system  ol  eJ.ueation,  whieh 
is  based  on  n;\-tho!o-\  and  servility,  is  to  blame  1or 
this  ignorance. 

.\;;ai;i,  it  \va^  the  (  lo\  ci-;iment  \\-hi,'li  initiated  th-- 
briber}-  and  intimidation  ulneh  are  the  u-ua!  me'.  hods 
of  beeomin;j,  M  .  I'  .  \\'hrn  X'i.-eoinit  Shina^a\\a  held 
the  booths  in  i.  Si)-  it  was  at  the  behe>t  o!  Manjtiib 
Mat.-ukata,  \\hilst  Vama^ata's  '  i.;o!d  pills'  were  lamou- 
twenty  years  ag^o.  'I'll'  Cniio-ha,  the  political  party 
!eil  !)}•  Haron  (  )ura,  \,a-.  Vama^ata's  maehiru1,  and  \\a> 
opeidy  aekiio\\  led;..;e(l  to  be  hep!  together  b\  l)r:b(i-\'. 
It  is  one  ol  the  paradoxes  oi  jajian  that  I>aro:i  (  >nra, 
\\lio  played  so  pro:u;nent  a  pail  i'i  t'ie  Shinauawa  aiiair 
ol  iSi)2,  who  has  lor  years  led  the  Chtio-ha,  a  band 
ot  political  beachcombers,  who  was  responsible  t  >r  the 
riots  of  i()j  -,  should  no\v  a;j,a':i  ride  at  the  Home  office 
to  enforce  the  Klcction  Law.  I'll:'  lengths  to  \vliich  a 
Cio\  ernnient  and  a  party  will  i;o  were  illiistratL-cl  in 
1013,  when  the  kStil>uma-Seiyuk\vai  Mini-ir}-  h  -id  up 


156  JAPAN    AT   THE   CROSS    ROADS 

all  the  mail  of  the  Katsura  party,  and  M-nt  round 
policemen  on  house-to-house  visits  advising  the  electors 
to  '  beware  '  of  the  Rikken  Doshikai.1 

The  extent  to  which  politicians  are  influenced  by  st»lf- 
interest  may  be  suggested  by  the  career  of  the  late 
Hoshi  lorn.  Originally  a  teacher  of  Knglish,  he  was 
taken  up  by  the  late  Count  Mut>u.  under  whose  leadi-r- 
-h:p  he  distinguished  himself  in  a  dispute  with  Sir 
Harry  I'arke-  as  to  the  correct  translation  of  the  words 
'  Hueen  '  and  '  Kmpre-s.'  Later  he  w.is  sent  to  Kn^land 
and  graduated  at  the  Temple.  On  his  return  he  joined 
the  Department  of  Justice.  In  1X83  he  (juitted  office  to 
follow  Count  Itati'aki,  a  step  due  entirely  to  the  ti^ht 
between  th"  Mitsii  Bishi  and  the  Kyodo  I'nyo  Com- 
panies, in  the  latter  of  which  Hoshi  held  shares.  His 
energy  and  boldness  soon  placed  him  at  the  top  of 
the  ladder,  and  he  even  displaced  Ita^aki  in  the  leader- 
ship of  the  party  and  in  the  a/lections  of  the  people, 
lie  berame  President  of  the  Lower  I  louse,  but  in  eon- 
junction  with  Cioto  and  other  prominent  men  became 
mixed  in  a  Kra't  ^candal,  which  tin-  opposition  quickly 
ntili/ed  to  e\p<-l  him.  He-  stood  in  the  next  Election, 
and  alter  a  bitter  eonte-t,  in  which  one  person  was 
killed  and  117  wounded,  was  defeated.  Ambition  was 
his  weakness,  and  he  readily  i;ave  up  domestic  jxilitics 
to  accept  the  [x»^t  of  Minister  to  Washington.  In 
Americ.i  h«-  learned  all  the  method^  of  the  political 
boss,  and  on  his  return  [<i  Japan  smas)ie<l  the  Liberal- 
rm^re>sive  combination  and  took  the  former  party  o\er 
to  Ito,  who  rewarded  him  with  the  portfolio  of  Com- 
inunii  atioiis. 

Moth  the  bureau1  iats  and  the  Progressives  attacked 
ho  tor  thi^  apjxiintment  with  su«  h  \ioleii1  <•  that  Ibi-lu 
wa-.  fop  ed  to  t'esj^Ti.  The  bureaucrats,  led  by  N'ania 
;;ata,  u-ed  lio-hi  a^  a  sti  k  to  beat  ho,  .u  i  u  -in;;'  him 
-.(  di-re-pei  t  t.i  th"  ThrDjie  in  appointing  a-  a  Minister 
.1  p'T-oii  a '.read1,  on-1-  impelled  from  the  HM;;M-,  \\lii]  t 
the  I'ro;;re  sues  weie  frankly  afraid  of  lloshi'-  methods 

'    I'liiur    K.i!    ;jr.i'    |'.i;t\,  i)1  \s   i!ici;f('l  in  the  Kriik<>( j.u. 


POLITICS  157 

and  ambitions.  He  entered  municipal  politics,  converting 
the  town  hall  into  a  Tammany  brothel,  on  the  steps 
of  which  he  was  eventually  assassinated  as  the  result 
of  the  incitation  of  Shimada  Saburo,  now  Speaker  and  a 
leader  of  the  Rikken  Doshikai,  and  then  editor  of  the 
Tokyo  Muinichi  Shirnbun.  Hoshi  has  left  a  deeper 
mark  on  political  methods  in  Japan  than  any  one  else. 
A  man  of  extraordinary  determination  and  of  mag- 
nificent eloquence,  he  had  the  lowest  political  standard. 
He  was  himself  repeatedly  bribed  into  the  surrender 
of  his  party's  aims,  and  had  no  hesitation  in  u^ing 
similar  methods  towards  his  su|>jx)rters  and  enemies, 
lie  deliberately  sold  out  to  Yamagata  and  to  I  to.  More 
than  any  other  politician  he  was  resjxjnsible  for  the 
policy  of  intimidation,  and  never  went  to  an  electioneer- 
ing meeting  without  a  bodyguard  of  sushi  (toughs), 
who  at  the  least  sign  of  heckling  or  dissent  were  loosed 
on  the  opposition.  His  career  affords  an  interesting 
study  of  political  knavery,  and  is  a  useful  index  to 
the  customs  of  his  time,  customs  which  have  to  a  great 
extent  endured  to  the  present  day. 

In  the  Confucian  Analects  the  following  passage 
occurs  :  '  Tsu  Kung  asked  for  a  definition  of  good 
government.  The  Master  replied  :  '  It  consists  in  pro- 
viding enough  food  to  eat,  in  keeping  enough  soldiers 
to  guard  the  State,  and  in  winning-  the  confidence  of 
the  people.'  '  And  it  one  of  these-  tilings  has  to  be 
sacrificed,  wlrich  should  go  first?  '  The  Master  replied  : 
Sacrifice  the  soldiers.'  '  And  il  of  tin:  two  remaining 
things  one  has  to  be  sacrificed,  which  should  it  be? 
The  Master  said  :  '  Let  it  be  the  food.  From  the 
beginning  men  have  had  to  die.  But  without  the 
confidence  of  the  people  no  government  can  exist.' 

It  was  with  the  intention  of  carrying  out  the  prin- 
ciples of  Confucius  that  Marquis  Saionji  formed  his 
second  administration.  The  confidence  of  the  people, 
the  food  of  the  people,  and  then  national  defence.  It 
was  for  these  reasons  that  sweeping  changes  were  made 
in  administrative  oltices,  that  a  non-party  Finance 


i;s          i.  \r.\.\  AT  Tin-:  CROSS  ROADS 

Minister  ua>  appointed  v..ih  tin-  m<>--t  explicit  instnie- 
ti'i!;-,  to  cut  dov.n  e\pen><--,  and  a  \\ide  ami  i<pre- 
>en'au\e  *  'ituirtie  •  lonn;  i  t<i  ivor^am/e  the  ^hole 
.iilii!!:;!  -tr.it:',  <•  -y,h-;;i  on  a  i;  n  re  ciii  i  -n:  a:nl  !e>-  in-'iy 
l«.i-:-.  in  i  o  i  j  jaj  an  \\a  as  near  a:i  inten.al  ie\o- 

itltlori     a-     It      !-•     ^oo  1     I">I"     a!lV      !,at;nH     ID     ;M».  I'hc     CD-.t 

"I  ii'iii;;  v.a->  pr<  'liibilivr,  a.'i'i  ilic  utniDst  IIII--T'.  \\a» 
-pn.ul  thr'  ';;;.,!)•  i;;t  tin-  country.  In  HD:I--)  .ri'i  tiu- 
-!i:in  <!;-:n  (^  rn:i«l!t:i  :i-  \\cic  a'i  ;'l::'fly  n:\  a  t.i!!!i;u- 
lia^-is.  and  c\c:i  i;i  ill"  h<  ttrr  <:ur.rr-  ihf  (i;^!i«  -  -  ua-^ 


pt«»;:!f.  ID,C  u-D'a  \"i;."7  per  h')ku  ID  Vjv^5-  '  '  ''  ' 
p;  i.  »•  ;:;  I  </  I  !  \va-  in  ;u  -r:i  V  I  I  .  j  5  a:  id  \  I  <>.  \  T  •  It 
;-  i!nj  M  >--;'  •]••  ID  in  '••;<•*;  ;mat  •  'If  (ii^a-tri  ais  ciu-c  o! 
;hi-  ri-c.  IDT  ;!-,-  }>••:••  d  ric--  i-,  tin-  IMM-.  <ni  uhi.  !i 
v,  ,  !.,<•-  aiid  t  oinnii)  .r.i"-  .!''•  ti\vi'i.  laxation  \va-  another 
:  i'(  ;;ic:;d  .n  luird-n  on  i!r  p"D])!r.  'I'Jn-  tutil'1  I\a:-'iia 
plan-  ;D  p.jy  oil  jhr  v.  ar  <••-  p  nd'V.irr  1:1  ;•<  cnrd  time 
iiad  !IDJ,(  !••-  Iy  c  liaj)-  d.  a:id  i..id  !«•.!  a  it'.M'd-n  <'')  the 
p.  nj»|e  nt  \  12.  o  /  1  •  '•  Cd^lia.  'I  he  avera.;c  ir.miiH' 
u!  an  ,'e.;i  :<  n!'.::ra!  'a'  >•  >n:  -•;  '  -  fariiiy  in  i;;i-:  \'..i  N-J1) 
P'-V  a:;n;nn.  I  »edn  :  \'  'J..;o,  !»  ;:r;  t..-i  o!  i  ice  t^r  .1 
.  <  .11  to:  .1  |.i;.ii!y  o;  IIM  !  ia:  >d,  u  il  .-,  .in  !  !  hr  •<•  •  in'-  in-n. 
ind  i;o!  ni;:i  h  i  l<-t  t  t  .r  <  1  >'  ':)•  •  -.  r  n:  .  I  o  d.  hi;!r  a  ;d 
:.i\<  -.  v.'iii  !i  ;  .  pri  -ent  \'  i  o..  o  i.  T  -  u«  !i  a  taini!;,  .  Hi-- 
Cud  et  !,-i!  i  -i-.-.aid  !.-.  Mr.  .iii.r.n  ,;.  ;•  'M,  d  v  \  r/.i-- 


POLITICS  IS') 

trative  Kelonn  Committee  had  issued  its  report  (June, 
i  <;  i  2  i  <t  im:her  reduction  ol  V70, 000,000  was  shown, 
ol  which  \  20-,'  •(  <o,i  'Oo  ua.  obtained  by  postponing  con- 
tinuing prog;  an  sines  ;ii:d  Y  j  5,  20* >,ooo  by  increased 
revenue  Ironi  the  monopolies  a;;d  public  works.  No 
less  than  \  2<;, 000,000  u a  s  ^a\cd  \>y  ri  organi/ation  ol 
the  \arinus  minMenal  department  -,  whit  h  in«  idrntally 
restihed  111  thr  <ii>iin^--a!  <>l  v  ^oo  .senior  oiiicials  and 
al><>ut  20,000  jirity  oiiicials  and  employes,  and  '-<•!(- 
dcn\in;;  ordinance-,  \\eiv  undertaken  that  no  lorei^n 
loan^  should  he  i-siu-d  and  that  the  amount  ol  Treasury 
Hill-  should  !>e  strictly  limited. 

The  principal  hacker  of  the  Ministry,  the  Kmperor 
Mut.uhito,  died  nn  July  ,iO,  1912,  and  thereafter  trouble 
was  just  as  certain  as  the  sea  is  wet.  Yama^ata,  always 
an  opponent  of  Saionji,  re-umed  an  a:^t;'ressi\'e  attitude, 
and  ii!-trueied  I'ehara,  the  Minister  of  \Var,  that  no 
economies  were  to  be-  eii'ected  in  his  department  unless 
the  Cabinet  agreed  to  de\'ote  those  economies  to  an 
increase  in  the  Army  oi  two  divisions,  the  first  in-lal- 
nient  of  a  proposed  increase  to  twenty-live  divisions. 
This  proposed  augmentation  had  been  pending  for  some 
years,  and  was  part  of  the  <;randiloquen!  expansionist 
jioiic\-  f-hicli  had  been  tile  Choshu  contribution  to  the 
f'O^i -hi  llunj  Imperialism.  it  had  received  the  consent 
el  ihe  l;i:e  i'jnperor,  but  this  consent  had  bei-n  coupled 
\\iih  an  explicit  vein  oa  the  implementing1  ol  the  j>ro- 
p'l-al  nniil  such  time  as  the  countrv  was  in  a  linancial 
posiiion  to  bear  the  additional  burden.  It  h.id  aire.'dy 
bec-n  rejected  by  Ivit-ura,  and  \\as  rejected  by  him 
a;;ain  in  i  <)  i  >  expre-sly  on  this  Imperial  proliihition. 
'I'his  f;ict  htid  no  influence  whatsoever  with  Vama;_;aia. 
l'/'.s  ti-\;s  the  interests  of  the  Choshu  clan  the  Imperial 
wishes  ha\e  li;tle  weight.  \'am;ie,ata  intended  to  kick 
Saionji  out  because  he  did  not  like  him  and  his  popu- 
larity, because  h  •  had  granted  part  ot  the  demands  of 
the  Na\y  but  none  of  t!io-e  of  the  Army,  because  he 
had  llomed  him  ;md  ins  position  as  President  ol  the 
Privy  Council  durine,  the  1-imperor's  ilhus-.  and,  most 


160  JAl'AN    AT    THK    CROSS    ROADS 

important  <>f  all,  hccavi-c  he  (Yama^ata  i  wanted  the 
power  bark  in  hi-  own  hands.  lYhara  \\a^  tlir  cioll  tliat 
did  the  jumping,  \"aina;_;ata  pullrd  tin-  Mniu;>.' 

'  A^  l'r!i.i:.i  \v.i>  Ivttvily  .itt.iLKCil  in  c iinncc'.u.n  with  hi^  rr-i^n.ition. 
it  !-•  wnitli  \vh;l<-  pi'Mitini;  »nl  tli.it  he-  .u!ol  iiii-\'iy  \\.i\  |  ci  ic^tlv 
O'liec'ly  .K.V' ij,liii^<  to  the  Cmi^IitutixM.  i  in.-  f.iult  did  ic  1  i.iv  v.  ith 
I 'cli.ii .1,  l>.it  witii  tiu-  Con^t 1 1 ul h MI  .in.!  its  fi  .i:iu  i  -. 


CHAPTER    TIIRKE 
POLITICS 

PART   II 

ON  No\ ember  }oth  I'ehara's  preliminary  proposals 
having  been  refused  by  the  Cabinet,  the  \Var  Minister 
called  on  Saionji  and  delivered  an  ultimatum,  either 
acceptance  ot  the  Army  increase  or—  -.  A  Cabinet 
meeting  was  called  that  evening  and  the  proposal 
placed  before  it.  It  was  unanimously  rejected.  ( )n 
December  I  st  (Sunday)  the  Minister  of  War  \va.-> 
officially  informed  of  the  decision,  and  at  10  a.m.  on 
Monday  morning  he  placed  his  resignation  in  the  hands 
of  the  Emperor.  Readers  may  say  that  there  was 
nothing  serious  in  the  situation  at  this  stage,  and  Saionji 
could  have  appointed  another  Minister  to  replace  t'ehara. 
But  really  he  could  not.  By  three  o'clock  in  the  after- 
noon it  was  known  that  Choshu  and  the.  Army  had 
declared  a  boycott  of  the  Saionji  Cabinet,  and  no  general 
officer  would  accept  the  portfolio.  The  Minister  for 
\Yar  had  to  be  a  general.1  On  December  4th  Saionji, 
whp  refused  to  have  recourse  to  an  Imperial  Edict  to 
keep  I'ehara  in  office,  resigned,  and  Prince  Vamagata 
had  attained  his  first  object. 

In  the  second  phase,  however,  the  Choshu  veteran 
overstepped  himself.  Saionji,  who  was  by  no  means 
the  fool  that  Yamagata  believed  him  to  be,  recom- 
mended Kalsura  as  his  successor.  Now  the  Prince  had 
wanted  the  Saionji  Ministry  out  of  the  way  to  make 
room  for  Terauchi  or  Ilirata,  these  being  his  two  faith- 

'   In  1914  the  Okuin.i  Cabinet  obt. lined  an  Imperial  Rescript  opening 
the  post  tq  retired  generals. 

II 


162  JAPAN    AT    THK    (ROSS    ROADS 

lu!    ht:;thm«n.       Kat-ura    in    dftiee    \\ a >    eertain    to    pa\ 
a-      \'.\<-     h   el     to     s\!:i   ;er-     1m.ii     I  »d  iwara    a       Saioaii 
had   done.      To   make  matter-,   worse,   both   Teram  hi  and 
llirat.i  frit  -hy  of  the  honour  propped  for  them.      Deter- 
mined   not    to    have    Katsura,    \"ama;;ata    f(dl    haek   on    a 
Sat -i  ho    i  -tialition    of    the    old    type    with     Matsukata    as 
i'remier.        '1  hou^h     se  \' en  ty -three     years     of      aj;e     the 
Maiqui-     fe.t     equ.il     to     tlie     ta^!<.     tlie-    more     so     a>     it 
aiiorded    <>p|  ortunnies    tor    tin-    exen  i-e    ot    hi>    Wolldeiful 
linaiifia!    ahil:tie>.       Atlair.s    even    ;;ot    s«i    tar    as    for    the 
Marquis   t«)   I'onie    up   to     Tokyo,    but    as   soon    as    he   ^ot 
there    the    SatMima     men    opened     his    eyes    to    the    real 
-tale    of     affair-,    nam-ly,    taai     Yam.iL;ata,     foiled    mil  e. 
uanied    to   u-e    him   as    a   <at>p.r.v.    and,   more    inijyort.mt 
Mill,    that    ( 'ho-hu    \\ere    at    sixt-s    and    s^x'ens   OWIIIL;    to 
the    -plit    hetween    \'ainai;ata    and    Katsura,    a    eonditum 
tiMin    uh'th    SatMima    i  ou;d    reap    nun  h    ad\-anta^i-     hy 
ho'.din;.;     their     hoi-i  s.        lie     \\eiit     to    hed     MI  k    ot     the 
Momaeh.    the    u>ual    rerour-c    ot    a    Japanese    in    trouMe. 
KatMira.      f:ankl>      ile  iron-      ot      seein;;      N'ama^aia      de 
lea'.e.l,     v. a  >     soiii  itoiis     enough     to     send     the     Imperial 
ph\  MI  ian     to    iert:ly     that     the     Marquis     was     too    ill     to 
take  otii'  e.       I  h  Te  wa-  .i  d< -.idiot  k  all  round.      \  ama^ata 
had    no   i  andidale,    SatMima   de-  lined    the   honour    for  the 
tune    iiein^,    and    >a,on|i    \sa^    nnup    out    and    determined 
''i    -lop    Mtit.        I  lie    final    de(  iMoii    <  anie    f  M  im    \\ithm    the 
pa!  i'  e.        'I  h'-re     Saionji      enjoys     (  <  .n.sidcrai  <}<•      intllleiiee 
ihroudi    hi-    i'lnthe:,     l'i  in<  e     lok;nlai|i.    and.    as     Mated, 
Saion;i     had     rei  ommeiided     Katsura.       In     addition     the 
ia<iie,     M(     the     jialaee    did     not     uant     Katsura    a-     Lord 
I'livy     Sea!.         1  h-  \      n   \er    ha1,  e     uaiited    anyii'idy     with 
ener.;1,     and    <!('  :   i  in,     and    the\     rjadly     helped     in    the 
nn  »•.  emeiit .       I  ma  il\     l'i  ;;i'  e     1  n  h  mi,    the     I  .<  .1  d    (  ham 
l,er!ain    and    u:n  le    "t    th"    l.mpeior,    ad\i-ed    the   transfer 
i.t    the    l.oid    I'r;\  y    .^eal    to    th1    I'remier  hip.       Yania;:aia 
ua       lori  i-d     to     a:;ree,     and     Katstna     foinied     In.     third 
Mini   tr.         A-    tat    a^    \  ama;;ata    \\a-    (  on<  erned    h.-   had. 
.1.    tin       |aj)ai,e    e       ,tv,     '   pik-d     tlie    ii'.l-li     and    1  >  I  •  ra;;  lit    out 

i      ertient  '       I 'id     Kat   uia    \\ant     to    take    oin<  e    a^ain? 


POLITICS  163 

Yes,  hut  not  then,  lie  was  tired  of  ili<  palace,  l)ii' 
he  had  no  desire  lo  see  Saionji  resign.  Indeed  he  went 
so  far  on  I)ecember  i  st  as  to  promise  Saionji  his 
sup|x>rt  if  he  would  remain  in  ol'lice. 

The  results  of"  the  fall  of  the  Saionji  Cabinet  were 
important.  I  think  that  the  general  assumption  ilia, 
the  incidents  demonstrated  the  eiletene^s  and  failure  of 
the  Genro  is  incorrect.  It  appears  to  me  that  the  clans 
arc-  to-day  as  linn  I  y  entrc-nehcd  as  ever  they  were. 
The  set-back  which  Yamagata  received  was  not  due 
to  a  failure  of  Genro  prestige  and  methods  but  to  a 
split  between  the-  Choshu  factions  a:id  to  th'-  refusal 
of  Satsiuna  to  take  part  in  the  proceedings. 

The  most  noticeable-  feature  of  the  events  of  .1  )ecember, 
10.12,  was  the-  remarkable  grasp  of  the  constitutional 
aspects  of  the  situation  displayed  by  the  fapane-e  pres-,. 
No  reader  of  the-  vernacular  papers  could  any  longer 
be  in  doubt  of  the  existence  and  extent  of  the  clan 
machine  and  of  the  infallible-  processes  by  which  it 
could  assert  to  itsell  the  power  to  dictate  the  policies 
of  ministries  and  nation.  Tin-  popular  indignation  gave 
to  the  press  an  opportunity  of  leading  the  nation.  That 
it  later  resulted  in  mob  law,  a  condition  which  has 
been  repeated  in  successive-  years  (1913,  1914.  and 
19151  is  a  matter  of  regret,  but  inevitable  in  a  country 
where  the  people  have  no  other  articulate*  method  of 
expressing  their  grievances. 

The  most  important  consequence  of  the  whole  affair 
was  the-  confession  by  Katsura  that  a  (iovc-rnment  must 
be  backed  by  its  own  party,  an  expression  of  opinion 
which  has  been  further  developed  by  his  successor,  Kato, 
into  '  a  Government  can  only  rule  by  the  support  of  a 
majority  of  the  Ilou-e  of  Representatives.'  Whether 
Kato  can  carry  that  maxim  into  practice  re-mains  to 
be  seen,  for  it  implies  a  determination  to  resign  in  the 
event  of  the-  failure  ot  a  Ministerial  vole  in  the  House. 
The  Genro  firmly  believe  that  whilst  there  is  life  there 
is  scope,  and  will  strain  every  faculty  to  revert  to  the 
old  order  of  things. 


164  JAPAN    AT    THK    CROSS    ROADS 

There  is  no  doubt  that  observers  both  abroad  and 
in  Japan  believed  that  the  millennium  had  arrived  when 
Pi  inre  Katsiira  was  driven  out  of  office  in  February, 
I<>M.  The  words  of  (  >no  A/usa  .it  the  foundation  of 
Wa-eda  I  imerMty  were  recalled,  printed  as  leaflets, 
and  ^cattered  broadcast.  "A  country's  independence 
depend--  on  the  indepetidem  e  of  her  people."  This  and 
-imikir  extract^  from  the  writing  and  sayings  of  the 
early  pioneers  ot  democracy  were,  widely  published.  The 
fall  of  Kat-ura,  the  '  ti^er  of  bureaucracy,  '  was  wel- 
<  omed  as  the  .smashing  up  of  the  bureaucratic  system. 
Hut  nothing  has  hapj)e!ied  Mnce  in  Japan  to  indicate  that 
the  antii  ipation  was  correct  . 

When  Kat-ura  had  formed  his  Ministry  '  he  had  to 
i;et  a  party  to  ba-  k  it.  It  was  at  once  known  thai 
such  was  his  intention,  and  it  was  quite  in  accordance 
\\ith  the  Japanese  idea  of  politics  that  a  party  should 
be  formed  before  a  platform  was  publi.shed.  After 
all.  .1  platform  is  only  important  where  a  party  has 
fixed  id«-.  i-,  bm  \vh-n  it  i>  on'y  a  chorus  to  its  leader 
it>  priii'  ipN-s  are  a  s'-eondarx  matter. 

I  think  Kat-ura  made  a  ej'eat  mistake  in  accejumj; 
offii  e.  lie  <  x  •  u-i  d  himst-it  ,d'teruard>  by  saying  That 
it  \\.i-  fori  cd  on  him  bv  the  palaie.  If  accept.  uice 
\\a>  ine\  liable,  th-n  he  seriou-ly  overestimated  his  own 
inllueiii  e  aiid  s'-nocsly  underestimated  the  j>ower  of  ]ns 
eneiiiie-.  \\iiliout  <ioui  t  Pr'nie  \,ima:;a!a  could  have 
undeiri\id  him,  but  it  was  no  part  of  that  worthy's 
L-aiii'-  to  p;rv«-nt  Kat-ura  lommittiiiL;  politiial  hari-kiri. 
\\\\\\  the  ba  l;;n  ;  of  the  S'-ivuk\vai  lie  could  ha\e 


M 

li.uun  Goto 


POLITICS  165 

got  through,  but  he  deliberately  '  cut  his  ropes  '  with 
them  as  a  ]X)litical  party,  though  he  intended  to  seduce 
individual  members  by  bribes.  lie  was  heavily  handi- 
capped by  the  personnel  of  his  Cabinet.  He  relied 
in  an  entirely  new  scheme  of  government  on  men  who, 
with  one  exception,  were  notorious  for  their  connection 
with  'bureaucracy  and  with  his  previous  despotic 
administration. 

Kato  Takagaki,  the  exception,  was  born  in  1860 
in  Aichi  Prefecture.  He  graduated  in  law  from  the 
Tokyo  Imperial  I 'Diversity  in  i.S.Si,  and  thereafter 
entered  the  service  of  the  famous  Mit-u  Bishi.  lli^ 
marriage  with  Harugi,  the1  sister  of  Baron  Iwasaki, 
the  present  head  of  the  firm,  is  the  reason  that  Japanese 
writers  refer  to  him  as  a  Mitsu  Bishi  bridegroom. 
Thanks  to  the  Iwasaki  influence  he  quickly  obtained 
an  appointment  in  the  Tokyo  Foreign  (  Mtice,  eventually 
becoming  private  secretary  to  Count  ( )kuma,  Director 
of  the  Finance  and  Taxation  Bureaux  at  the-  Treasury, 
and  in  1894  Minister  in  London.  In  the  fourth  ho 
Cabinet  he  was  Minister  of  Foreign  Affairs,  but  retired 
to  acquire  the  Nicfii  Nit  hi  Sliinibun  and  a  seat  in 
the  Lower  House.  At  thai  time  a  supporter  of  repre- 
sentative government,  he  endeavoured  to  create  a 
political  entente  between  I  to  and  Okunia.  Ito  had  been 
so  impressed  by  his  energy  and  knowledge  of  party 
politics  that  his  reminiscences  record  that  in  1900  In- 
only  invited  Kato  to  join  the  Cabinet  because  he  was 
too  strong  a  man  to  have  in  opposition.  Kato  himself 
was  more  attracted  to  ( >kuma,  whom  he  early  recog- 
nized as  the  '  good  egg  '  of  Japanese  politics,  whilst 
Ito  was  only  good  in  parts. 

In  the  first  Saionji  Cai>inet  Kato  was  Foreign  Minister, 
but  resigned  on  the  Railway  Nationaii/ation  proposal, 
of  which  he  strongly  disapproved. 

Although  Amhas>ador  in  London  from  i<;oo-i  }.  Kato 
has  been  largely  responsible  tor  Japan's  Chine-e  policy 
since  1911.  He  has  ideas  ot  his  own  on  tin-  subject, 
on  which  lie  came  to  an  agreement  with  Kat-ura  in 


1 66  JAPAN    AT   TIIK   CROSS    ROADS 

1912.  In  1913  he  joined  the  latter,  as  much  because 
he  hoped  t«>  put  these  ideas  into  practice  as  because 
he  had  reccivrd  assurances  from  Katsura  as  to  the 
genuineness  of  his  party  intentions. 

lli-  alone  was  responsible  for  the  Japanese  demands 
on  China  at  the  be^innhi;.;  of  I  <;  i  :; .  How  it  was  that 
he  tame  to  so  misjudge  the  situation,  and  in  particular 
thi-  strength  of  British  f'-elinjj  with  regard  to  China, 
cannot  be  explained.  1'Yw  Japanese  have  been  credited 
with  a  deeper  knowledge  of  British  affairs  and  a  clearer 
insight  into  British  character  than  Kato,  and  ye:  no 
occupant  of  the  (hvuimu^ho  (  !•".<  ) .  <  h.is  ever  made  .1  bi^v^er 
blunder.  The  re-uhs  of  his  a^ressjve  jMhcy  \\ill  have 
far-reai  hint;  re-ults.  and  it  will  take  all  the  suavit\  and 
tail  of  Baron  Nlni  to  remove  the  suspicion  of  Japanese 
de-i-n.s  that  has  been  aroused. 

ilia'  Kato  was  the  strong  man  oi  the  (  >kuma  Cabinet 
ol  \>>\4  was  clear  to  every  student  of  Japanese  politic-. 
Invited  to  join  the  third  Katsura  Administration  on 
ai  count  ol  his  intimate  acquaintance  with  the  Knejibh 
political  s\siein,  he  was  largely  respon-ible  lor  the 
del. ills  (it  the  torm.itioii  ol  the  RikkiM  l>o-hikai.  ol 
\\hi-  h  party  he  became  the  \  i< c- President .  At  the 
death  <>l  the  late  1'rini  e  he  succeeded  to  the  I'resi- 
den<  y,  and  -pe:it  the  whole  ol  his  time  in  energetic 
propaganda  and  administration.  lie  \\.is  responsible 
t-»|-  the  le-i-naM'in  ol  liaion  (  ioto,  who  was  imbued 
uith  the  old  idea-  nt  the  purpn-e  of  pn|itic».  At  the 
laM  (iener.i!  !.!•  t  :on  the  Barun  led  his  paiiy  to  o\er- 
uhelmin;1,  \i't"i\,  and  a-  he  is  bound  to  the  prnniple 
•  •I  Miiii  teiial  ifspon -.ibilit  y  to  I'a:  liainent  If-  is  i  er'.ain 

ui;hin    a    -!ioit     pi-i;«id    t me    ba>  k    m;<>    old.  e    a!     ihe 

h'-ad  ('t  a  pure]\  pil'!>  <  ablll"!.  Ill"  Hit ."  •«  111  '  ii  >:\  "t 
pair.  ;;n\einmenl  o;i  tip-  I'.lii'Jl-h  innde!  is  the  uoik 
he  h.i  t' '  a<  i  olllpllsh . 

lie  i-  -tmri.'K  di-hk'-d  b\-  the  SUIAIVIIII.;  (  .emo,  b\ 
\  all  i.i ;  ,al  a.  alu  I  I  he  III! ,  I'  a  1  1  I  '  il  <  IH  '  -lit I,  \  ><"  ail  e  he  j  - 
too  Hid'  j  'em  ii  lit  t"  life!  then  \ieU  ,  lln'l/il  III  111!  Il 
tli-".  oue  him  a  ni'-ed  <il  .'  I  at  it  lid--  loi  bnakiii:1.  up  the 


POLITICS  167 

Seiyukwai,  for  fifteen  years  the  Field-Marshal's  bete 
noir.  \\\  Matsukata  and  Satsunia  he  is  naturally  hated, 
for  he  pulled  the  wires  which  wrecked  the  Yamainoto 
Cabinet  in  1914.  In  addition,  he  has  been  outspoken 
in  his  views  on  the  anomalous  ]x i-.it ion  of  th<-  <  icnro, 
though  lie  was  not  able  to  resist  their  demand  {or  his 
resignation  in  August  last. 

A  strong  man,  a  gentle-man,  wealthy  and  with  con- 
siderable family  influence  behind  him,  he  is  now  with- 
out doubt  Japan's  leading  statesman.  lie  is  curiously 
unpopular,  for  he  is  lacking  in  that  magnetic  attrac- 
tion "which  was  so  strong  a  feature  of  the  late  Prince 
Ito.  A  very  undemonstrative  man,  lie  does  not  care 
for  public  approval  or  disapproval,  and  he  is  wanting 
in  enthusiasm  of  speech  or  manner.  He  ha-,  even  been 
accused  of  being  '  too  Hnglish,'  an  accusation  distinctly 
to  the  credit  of  the  English. 

The  idea  of  Katsura  governing  according  to  correct 
party  rules,  struck  tin-  man  in  the  street  as  irresistibly 
funny,  forgetting  the  words  of  Wei  San  Kuei,  '  The 
truly  great  man  will  always  frame  his  actions  with  care- 
ful regard  for  the  exigencies  of  the  moment."  Katsura 
himself  gave  the  show  away  in  an  interview  which  was 
not  for  publication.  I  asked  him  how  he  proposed  to 
proceed,  and  he  ran  his  first  finger  along  a  groove 
in  the  table  at  which  we  were  sitting.  "  So.  Just  so  ! 
The  rule  of  thumb,  the  straight  line,  regimental  discipline 
were  the  only  methods  he  understood.  <>m-ide  of  Kato 
his  Cabinet  contained  nobody  of  note.  The  Minister  of 
Finance,  Wakatsuki,  had  still  his  reputation  to  make. 
though  he  could  expatiate  on  the  mercantilist  theory 
by  the  hour.  The  inclusion  of  (Jura  and  (ioto  was 
alone  sufficient  to  provoke  disaster.  No  two  men  were 
more  disliked  both  in  and  out  of  the  Diet. 

The  Home  Office  is  the  most,  important  poM  in  the 
Cabinet  for  any  Premier  with  autocratic  tendencies. 
Police,  prefectures,  and  the  whole  vast  machinery  of 
local  government  with  .ts  inmirii-e  patronage  is  at  the 
disposal  of  its  occupant.  In  1871  (  >ura.  u  ho  was  Ivirn 


i68  JAPAN    AT   THE   CROSS    ROADS 

in  1850,  was  a  sergeant  of  police.  He  rose  to  be 
a  junior  inspector,  and  in  1874  took  part  in  the  Formosan 
expedition.  On  his  return  he  rejoined  the  police  and 
became  Inspector.  In  the  Suigo  rebellion,  1877.  he 
became  a  sub-lieutenant,  and  then  lieutenant  in  the 
Anny.  He  rose  through  the  positions  of  Vice-Chief  of 
the  Police  Bureau  and  Commissioner  of  I'olice  fur  Osaka, 
and  ( lovernor  of  two  prefectures,  to  the  post  of  Super- 
intendent-( ier.eral  of  Police  in  1809,  and  in  I  ooo  was 
an  Imperial  nominee  to  the  Hou-e  of  Peers.  In  the  first 
Kat-ura  Ministry  he  was  Mini-ter  of  Communications, 
and  in  the  se<  ond  Minister  of  Agriculture  and  Commerce, 
and  visited  London  as  President  of  the  Anglo-Japane-e 
Exhibition.  ( )ura  i^  one  of  the  few  exceptions  in  Japan 
to  the  rul;-  that  kissing  goes  by  tavour.  He  has  ri-en 
tiitirely  by  the  merit>  ot  his  o\vn  character,  principally 
b\  hi-  strict  obedience  to  the  instruction^  of  his  superiors. 
He  is  a  simple  man,  without  leaning",  without  want-,  and 
without  influence,  and  tar  more  coiisiderative  of  his  social 
and  official  inferiors  than  of  his  superiors.  He  has 
great  self-{X>s-ession  and  immense  cour.ij.ji-,  physical  and 
moral.  He  is  entirely  la  king  i:i  independence,  and  he 
ha-  Daniel  considerable  opprobrium  owing  to  the  duties 
he  has  had  to  perform  on  behalf  of  Yamagata  and 
Kat-ura.  His  explii  it  obedience  to  orders  i,  almo-t 
j.ithetii.  It  In-,  i  lii'-f  instructed  him  to  lock  up  all  the 
member-  of  the  l)i<(,  he  uould  do  it  without  hesitation, 
and  v.  ithout  regret.  A  >  head  of  the 
hand!  d  lar^e  -unis  in  biibe-.  but  hi- 
ei  (  har:_;e  I  him  \\ith  keeping  hack  a 
ed  tlimu-h  in ,  hand-.  I  Ie  is  a  man 
,imb;ti'):i  and  uithout  independeiu  <•,  but  he  oue- 
the  i,irm-!i  on  hi-,  reput.ition  to  the  duty  umk  he  has 
[ejeatedls  had  to  do  t»!  his  superiors. 

(  ioto  i -,  a  man  of  <|Uite  ditieient  I'ahbie.  He  \\as 
Imrn  in  I  "'>;*,  both  In-  father  and  :;  r  andfathei  Ix-in;; 
do.  tor.  lie  hid  th"  ;'<»od  foitnne  t-i  attend  t'(.iuit 
It, i.  al.  i.  .ill-  i  t!i--  attemp:  t«  •  as^a-sinate  him  .it  I  umoto 
in  |-  I  he  (  ou.'it'.  inteie-t  obtained  In-  tiaii-^fei 


POLITICS  169 

to  the  Home  Department,  and  in  itS.S^  he  became  Director 
of  the  Sanitary  Bureau.  In  i.SXc;  he  was  sent  to  Berlin 
to  study  Hygiene,  returning  in  1X92.  The  following  year 
he  was  implicated  in  the  Soma  graft  scandal,  but  was 
acquitted,  the  Judge  accusing  him  of  shamming  cra/.y. 
He  lias  been  principally  noted  for  his  ambition,  vanity, 
and  servility.  At  the  same  time  he  is  extremely  capable 
in  his  own  sphere.  His  sanitary  work  was  so  excellent 
in  the  China  War  that  Count  Kodama  took  him  to 
Formosa  as  his  Chief  of  Civil  Administration.  To  ( loto 
is  due  entirely  the  excellent  system  of  light  railways 
throughout  the  sugar  districts  of  the  island.  He  planned 
and  set  up  the  whole  of  the  Civil  Administration,  the 
camphor  and  salt  monopolies,  and  his  regime  was  on  th« 
whole  very  creditable.  As  President  of  the  Manchurian 
Railway  after  the  war,  In-  showed  himself  a  good  traffic 
manager,  which  resulted  in  his  apjxjintmcnt  as  Minister 
of  Communications  in  the  second  and  third  KatMira 
Cabinets.  I  'nfortunately,  though  the  Baron  published 
a  book  on  (.Character  d*  the  Means  of  deft  ing  On  in 
the  World,  he  is  generally  reputed  to  be  no  stickler  for 
character.  He  is  certainly  the  richest  ex-Cabinet  Minister, 
and  his  name  has  been  frequently  mentioned  in  con- 
nection with  graft  scandals.  Foreign  merchants  openly 
assert  that  he  is  an  incorrigible  commission  hunter,  but 
also  that  he  is  very  square  in  his  dealings,  once  his 
own  share1  has  been  fixed.  When  the  S.M.R.  raised 
.C6, 000,000  in  London  and  spent  it  on  American  rolling 
stock  and  locomotives,  the  Japanese  press  credited  (ioto 
with  5  per  cent,  commission.  Mr.  Tayabe  Shuntei,  in  a 
very  brilliant  summary  of  the  man,  described  him  as 
a  "  brilliant  stage  actor,  in  turn  the  worshipper  of  the 
man  in  power,  being  successively  an  Okumaite.  Itoite, 
yamagatitc,  and  Katsurite.  In  addition  he  is  the  biggest 
boaster  in  Japan,  though  in  fact  as  courageous  as  a 
chicken."  Certainly  he  was  >crvile  as  a  worm.  I  well 
remember  the  scene  Avhen  K at -lira  and  he  left  lor 
Petrograd  in  1912.  The  t\v<>  principal  characters  met 
in  a  waiting-room  at  Shimba-hi  Station,  and  then  walked 


170  JAPAN    AT   THE   CROSS    ROADS 

down  the  platform  between  crowds  carefully  staged  on 
either  side.  First  came  Kat.-.ura.  straight  in  the-  hack  ami 
perky  as  ever,  a  panaina  hat  in  his  hand.  A  few  paces 
behind  came  (into,  making  low  bows  to  the  people, 
and  lower  l>ows  >till  to  anybody  he.  happened  to  know. 
\Vith  Katsiira  he  went  out  of  power,  and  with  Katsura 
dead  he  will  hardly  become  a  power  a^ain.  His  supreme 
ambition  lias  been  to  represent  Japan  abroad,  and 
IVtro^raol  is  the  post  he  has  always  had  his  eye  on. 
It  is  quite  certain,  however,  that  this  ambition  will 
remain  unfulfilled.1 

<  >t  the  other  member^  of  the  Cabinet  none  call  for 
especial  mention.  None  had  held  office  before,  and  their 
j.rnii  ip.il  cl.uni  wa-.  a  willin^nes-.  to  obey  order.-.,  (leneral 
l\i^o-ln  took  tlii-  \\'ar  portfolio,  beinu;  -ele(  ti'd  lor  the 
p»jst  as  a  non-Cho-hu  otlicer. 

The  Rikken  I)o>hikai  was  the  name  <  hosen  by  1'rince 
Kat  ura  for  hi^  new  party.  Su«  h  is  the  [x>\\er  ot  money 
that  he  succeeded  in  ^ainini;  in  the  short  space  ot  three 
uc-'k-  sixt\'-tour  adherents,  mo>tl\'  deserters  from  the 
Sei'.ukwai.  tin-  Kokuminto  i  \ationalist>  t.  and  the  hule- 
|endent-.  No  le-s  than  foit\-^e\cn  Nationalists  \\eiit 
ovi-r,  tin-d  ot  tollowini;  a  leader  \vh«>  preferred  his  piin- 

<  iple^    to    office.       The    HUM    notable    ot     the    new    party 
uei--  M'--.sj--..   <  Mshi.  Shimada,  and   Minoura.       The  former 
had    previou-dv    b«-e;i    ia';.;ht    in    In0h    treason    axain^t    his 
o\sn  part\.  when  in    i«;ii    he  f n -d  to  rie^otiate  an  tntcntt' 
uith     th'-       "coiid     Katsnra     Mini-try.       Shimada     \vas    the 
I'-adu-;;    d'-ma;,ro^ue   of     Japan,    and    v.a>    in    t!:.aM    ill    diin- 
inltic-,.  uliK  h  kind  ln--nd-  sirai-hiened  out,  be-ides  -:\MI^ 
him   a    handsome   motoi  -   ,ir.      Minoura    \\  a  -    'h-  e  lit  M    i«! 

<  ikuiiia'-     paper.    I h--    I lo<  In ' . 

palt1.     ha\nn;;     \><  en    toirned,    a    platform    \\a-     pni> 
lii-io'A    1    (omp.it'     it    \\ith   tho  e  nt    the   Seiuikual 
nnt' ).     a'l'  1     '    hn  e;  -  kai. 


POLITICS 


171 


klKKKX    DtHHIKAl 
rLitform  or  Mtini   I'oluv 

(1)  Devotion  to  Impel  ial  llon-M- 

(2)  Advancement  of  Japan 

(3)  Preservation    of     the    C'onsti- 

tution 

(4)  Definition    of    Ministeiial    Ke 

sponsihilitv 

(5)  Dissemination  of    Morals  and 

Kdtication 

(o)  The  promotion  of  fraternal 
relations 

(7)  Improvement  of  Industry  and 
finance 

(Si  Strengthening  of  C"loni.il 
Policy,  the  upholding  of 
Intel  national  Peace  and 
National  Prc-.ti^e  and  the 
I'm  ilicatiuii  of  the  l'iibli<. 
Services 


SKIYI:KWAI 

tm   or   Miiin 


Same 


Same 


Clll'SKlKWAI 

la  Ho  i' nt  or  Main  I'oln  v 

Same 


Can  any  OIK-  iina^inr  four  different  almonds?  The 
stranger,  who  witnessed  the  scenes  in  Tokyo,  would  have 
wondered  what  tin-  trouble-  was  about,  and  would  have 
certanly  been  flabbergasted  if  told  that  four  political 
parties  were  quarrelling  violently  as  to  how  to  carry 
out  the  same  programme.  There  was  and  there  remains 
among  Japanese  politicians  an  extraordinary  unanimity 
as  to  principles,  and  a  violent  antipathy  as  to  methods. 
It  is  quite  surprising  that  there  has  not  been,  and 
apparently  there  is  no  room  for,  an  aristocratic  party, 
nor  for  a  more  democratic  party  with  an  extension  ot 
the  franchise  as  its  appeal  to  the  voter.  All  platforms 
art1  vaguely  idealistic.  No  political  leader,  except  Inukai 
Ki,  has  displayed  any  ability  to  come  to  grips  with  his 


i;2  JAPAN    AT   THE  CROSS    ROADS 

subject,  and  Inukai  is  still  in  the  }x>litical  backwoods. 
Pious  a-piration,  office  and  bribes  form  the  begin- 
ning and  end  of  Japanese  politics,  as  at  present 
conducted. 

KaNura's  only  real  bid  lor  popularity  was  a  wild 
promise  to  reduce  expenditure  by  YSo, 000,000  a  year. 
and  if  anything  were  needed  to  seal  his  fate  that  did  it. 
Baron  Saito  had  refused  to  remain  in  office,  but  had 
been  maintained  there  by  an  Imperial  Kdict.  As  he 
i  ould  not  ijuit  ottice.  other  means  were  necessary.  Sat - 
suma.  who  would  have  let  Katsiira  remain  for  a  time 
in  retuin  tor  an  adequate  naval  appropriation,  revolted. 
<  'ount  Yamamoto  took  charge  of  the  proceedings,  in  - 
-tailing  him-elt  in  Saito's  olhcial  residence.  He-  made 
a  working  agreement  with  the  Seiyukwai,  and  when 
the  Diet  met  all  parties  except  the  Rikken  Doshikai 
united  against  Kat-ura.  The  ll«nis<-  was  thrice  adjourned. 
An  Imperial  Kdi.  t  wa^  i- -ued  to  Saionji  to  bring  the 
Seuuk^'ai  to  h'-el.  an  edi>  t  which  Saionji  accc-pted 
with  the  re-ply  that  it  wa->  a  matter  tor  the  Seiyukwai 
themselves  to  decide.  <  >n  February  13,  \>)i  >,  Yama- 
moto  -cut  Katsura  a  message  advi-ing  him  to  resign,  as 
otherwise  there  woiilcl  be  blood-hed.  The  gathering  of 
the-  Diet  resulted  in  such  demonstrations  as  convinced 
Kat-ura  that  hi-,  race  was  run,  the  more  so  a-  th--  (ienro 
under  Yatn  r_;ata'-  lead  advi-ed  the  Kmpeior  not  to  di- 
-olve  tli'-  Diet.  Blockaded  uith  the  other  Mmi-iei-,  in 

111-  olfl  lal  le-idence,  he  II 1 1  ill  l.i:  ed  bv  telephone  his  III- 
te:it!o:i  to  Ie  i  _;!i,  \\hllst  the  mob  tore  up  the  police  bo\e-, 
-ma-hed  the  ho:i-e-,  ot  his  -uppoi  ter->,  and  hied  hi- 
new-paj)'-i  otiuf-.  1  he  iie\t  day  I  he  ( 'abinet  loiniallv 

I'Ulthe;     (jenro    IlieetMlg-    eIi-U--(|.    and    <'-'U:.t     \'a!!la'I!o!i) 

\sa-  (ailed  on  to  torm  a  <  abuiet  .  I  he  Sei\t;kuai 
lli'Ii  jue  ,--d  :he;i  ,id\  aiita.'e,  ai:d  ^!Jpu!a!ed  thai  it 
he  uaiit'-d  :h'-i;  -ir'jH'it.  l!ie  members  ot  the  Mi:n-,:i\ 

111  1 1  •  I  '  1 1  h  •  I  ''.>'•  Hi'  Ml  1  x  •  I  -.  <>t  the  pal!1.  or  '  i  1 1 1 1  I  ll  e 
put-..  I  •  .  ;h;  ,  the  I't  •  mn-l  had  lo  a.Ti  •  I  In  'ii.di 

th-        N'alltaniotn       Mini    ti\        I         otteii       iel«-iiid       to       .1  ,       a 


POLITICS  173 

Seiyuk\vai    (  abinet,    it    was    not.       It    was    a    Satsuma- 
Seiyukwai  alTair.1 

Yamamoto  Gombei  was  born  at  Kagoshima  in  1852, 
and  his  career  may  be  said  to  have  been  synonymous 
with  the  development  of  Japan's  navy.  As  a  retainer 
of  the  Prince  of  Satsuma,  he  fought  on  the  Imperial  side 
in  the  Civil  War.  He  was  among  the  first  group  of 
students  when  the  Naval  Academy  was  founded,  and 
after  passing  out  visited  America  on  a  training  vessel, 
and  later  went  to  Germany,  and  on  board  a  German 
warship  circled  the  globe.  He  brought  out  the  Naniwa, 
Togo's  llagship  in  the  China  War,  from  England  in 
iS(S5,  and  two  years  later  went  back  to  that  country 
on  the  Naval  Mission  headed  by  Admiral  Kabayama.  In 
1890  he  rose  to  post  rank,  and  a  couple  of  years  later 
was  transferred  to  the'  Administrative  side  of  the-  Depart- 
ment, passing  in  quick  succession  from  Secretary  to  the 
Minister  to  be  Director  of  Bureau,  and  then  Vice-Minister. 
Six  years  after  entering  the  department  he  was  Minister, 
a  {x>st  which  he  filled  with  the  utmost  distinction  from 
1898  to  1906,  a  period  which  covered  the  arduous 
preparations  for  and  the  conduct  of  the  war  with  Russia. 
Short  and  thick -set,  with  a  two-finger  beard,  the  Count 
in  appearance  strikingly  resembles  the  accepted  portrait 
of  the  British  naval  officer  of  the  beginning  of  the 
century.  He  walks  with  a  roll,  and  he  walks  every  day 
for  exercise.  lie  speaks  English  fluently,  and  is  con- 
versant with  German.  lie  is  probably  more  a  man  of 

'   Premier Vdmiral  Count  Yamamoto 

Minister  for  Home  Affairs    Mr.  T.  Hara  (Seiyukwai) 

,,  Foreign  Allaire Baron  Makino 

,,  Finance  Baron  Takahashi 

,,  War      General    Ki^oshi  and   later 

General   Kusuno.-e 

,,  Navy    Baron  Saito 

,,  Justice Mr.  M.  Matsuda  (Seiyukwai  I 

,,  A  i^  r  i  c  u  1 1  u  re  and 

Commerce  Mr.  T.  Yamamoto 

,,  Education  Dr.  Okuda 

,,  Communications  ...  Mr.  Motoda  (Seiyukwai) 


174  JAPAN    AT    THK    CROSS    ROADS 

the  world  than  most  of  his  contemporaries,  and  knows 
more  than  any  of  them  how  to  Ix-  silent.  It  has  been 
said  that  a  grunt  is  his  affirmative,  and  a  14 runt  is  his 
negative.  It  may  IK-  so.  but  certain  it  is  that  he  is  no 
lover  of  words.  He  himself  has  related  that  when  in 
America  in  1007  he  had  a  conversation  on  the  California!) 
question  with  President  Roosevelt,  whereat  the  President 
sjx)ke  for  two  hours  and  the  Count  for  thirteen  minutes. 
His  replies  in  the  I)»et  to  interpellations  were  modi-Is 
of  brevity,  and  often  of  diplomatic  vagueness. 

The  expulsion  of  the  Katsura  Cabinet  in  loi  }  u.is 
entirely  due  to  him.  and  there-  can  be  no  doubt  that  he 
planned  it  immediately  on  the  outbreak  of  the  I'eh.ira 
coup.  The  manner  in  which  he  carried  it  out  was  in  strict 
accordance,  with  naval  strat"g"y.  Kvcrything  had  been 
carefully  prepared,  and  Sat-uma  marked  time  until  the 
moment  came  to  strike,  when  the  Count  struck  hard. 
As  a  tour  dc  force,  and  as  a  one-man  ellort.  his  action 
may  be  aptly  compared  with  Lord  Fisher's  demolition 
nt  the  A-ijuith  Cabinet  in  \<>i^.  Whilst  all  the  eredit 
•  it  th--  jHipular  eruption  ha-'  been  -houered  on  '  >/aki. 
Inukai.  and  ih  •  S<  i\ukwai  dema ;.o-ne-.  f.-w  have  icah/ed 
that  without  Yarnam  >to  in  the  background  t>  pull  the 
-tnngs,  th"  whol"  nioveni"!it  mu-t  have  ended  in  tia-M  o. 
It  was  the  silent  man,  sitting  in  the  \aval  .Minister's 
resident c,  \shen-  he  stayed  lor  ten  1-in^  days,  only  gom^ 
out  tui'e  to  answer  an  Imperial  mandate,  uho  inspired 
and  manipulated  the  'Constitutional'  ou'.bi'eak.  1  .o\  <• 
of  demo.  ra<  •.  had  no  -hare  in  In-  motive-,  uhiih  \\eie 
direr  tfd  -olely  to  advancing  th"  interest-,  ot  Sa'-uma, 
to  uhifh  <  Ian  th"  Count  is  bound  by  birth.  prote--ion. 
and  marriage  ties. 

'if  the  \-ariou-  members  nt  th"  Cabinet  Mara,  Makino. 
Saito.  Ma!>uda.  and  T.  Yamainoto  had  pre\'iou-K  h"!d 
oltu  e  und'-r  Manjui-  Sa:onji.  |)r.  <  )kuda  ua-  a  <lis 
tin^'uidied  law\er  who  had  hell  \  i<  ••  -M  in  i-te'  hiji.  undei 
the  bure.iM'  rat-  in  i  v;-I  and  l^1)1),  and  u!>  e.jU'-ntl1. 
b«  •  n  '  <im:ni^-:oner  ot  tip-  Imperial  l-ai;u!\  Hureau. 
Motoda  had  been  a  memlx-r  of  the  I  lou^c  sin<  <•  its  founda- 


POLITICS  175 

tion.  At  first  one  of  the  official  group,  ho  joined  the. 
Seiyukwai  at  its  formation,  and  had  been  Vice-Presi- 
dent of  the  Lower  House.  His  appointment  was  a  reward 
of  years  of  hard  and  unrequited  service  to  the  party, 
(ieneral  Kigoshi  remained  for  a  couple  of  months,  but 
then  retired  to  make  room  for  (Ieneral  Kusunose,  a  clans- 
man of  Kaga,  but  a  protege  of  (  hoshu,  who  had  filled 
various  responsible  commands  in  the  army,  but  was  best 
known  as  the  commander  of  the  Japanese  troops,  who 
murdered  the  Oueen  of  Korea  in  i<S<;S.  For  this  offence 
he  was  put  on  trial  at  Hiroshima,  but  acquitted  for 
lack  of  evidence. 

The  Yamamoto  Ministry  was  certainly  not  worse,  and 
was  considerably  better  than  some  of  its  predecessors. 
Unable  to  form  a  Budget  of  it>  own  for  lack  of  time, 
it  took  over,  with  a  few  alterations,  that  drafted  by  the 
second  Saionji  Cabinet.  It  carried  on  the  business  of 
the  country  in  a  satisfactory  manner,  though  the  even 
tenor  of  its  way  was  broken  by  the  sudden  acuteness 
of  the  -American  and  Chinese  questions.  The  opposition 
with  the  ingenuity  of  hate  used  both  these  matters  to 
embarrass  the  government,  and  very  nearly  succeeded  in 
bringing  about  a  war.  A  praiseworthy  item  of  its  ad- 
ministration was  the  restoration  of  the  Educational  appro- 
priation to  the  figure  at  which  it  stood  before  the  war, 
in  spite  of  some  substantial  reductions  in  the  Budget 
for  the  fiscal  year  1914-15.' 

The  Yamamoto  Cabinet  did  not  last  long,  though  its 
fall,  due  to  the  Naval  Scandal  of  1914,  occurred  sooner 
than  might  otherwise  have  been  expected.  I  low  far 
the  country  was  shocked  by  the  revelations  of  graft 
in  the  navy  is  uncertain.  The  assumption  of  \irtue 
by  politicians  and  bureaucrats  was  certainly  calculated 
to  deceive  the  casual  investigator.  But  the  indignant 
cries  of  Choshu  and  the  Rikken  Doshikai  can  hardly 
have  taken  in  those  who  had  followed  the  course  of 
events  in  Japan  during  the  last  twenty  years.  Bribery 
and  corruption  are  standing  dishes  in  the  Japanese  political 
1  For  further  details  of  financial  policy,  see  Chapters  IV  and  V. 


176  JAPAN    AT   T1IK   CROSS    ROADS 

<ind  administrative  bill  of  fare,  and  if  the  surprise  so 
skilfully  delineated  was  real,  it  was  more  probably  at 
the  si/e  of  the  commissions  taken  rather  than  at  the  dis- 
covery of  their  existence.  The  spread  of  the  scandals 
to  imjx>rtant  religious  institutions  and  to  the  Imperial 
Household  uas  .-uffn-.em  proof  that  the  navy  were  not 
the  only  black  sheep,  and  there  was  a  good  deal  of  more 
than  suspicion  that  all  was  not  well  in  other  of  the  big 
-pending  departments.  The  irony  of  the  situation 
uas  that  the  Cabinet  should  be-  pulled  down  because 
of  bribery  by  a  party  which  had  IHVII  created  by 
bribery. 

In  its  essentials  the  outcry  against  the  Cabinet,  which 
resulted  from  the  disclosure  ol  the  Richter  papers  in  a 
( ierman  court  ol  law.  were  merely  further  rounds  in  the 
tight  for  clan  control.  The  restoration  ot  iSoX  owed 
its  success  to  the  support  of  the  Satsiima  and  Choshu 
clans,  who,  as  soon  as  they  had  acquired  a  predominant 
{•option  in  the  State,  entrenched  themselves  by  assuming 
(ontrol  the  one  ot  the  N'avy,  tin-  other  of  the  Army,  and 
in  i<in\'ertmg  these  into  preserves  tor  the  clan-men.  For 
long  they  reigned  together-  in  sweet  unity,  undisturlx-d 
until,  in  i  </c>7,  the  Na\  y  got  a  bigger  slit  e  of  the  estimates 
than  thi-  Army.  In  I  <;o.S  ('ho>hu  got  the  upper  hand. 
In  I'M  I,  uheii  Saionji  came  ba<'k  into  otl'n c,  Satsuma 
urn-  striving,  and  \\ith  -onie  success,  to  regain  the  pre- 
dominance. In  i';ij  the  aj)pointment  ot  Kat-ur.i 
thie.iti-ned  tli'-  Sat-uma  [Ki-itioii.  and  afier  marking  time 
lor  a  i  oiiple  ot  montlj,  Satsuma.  ]>lus  the  mob, 
turned  Kat>ma  out  and  pra'tiially  rout'-d  the  ho^-t-  ot 
'  ho-hu.  Ill'-  latter  in  their  turn  ma  iked  time  until  the 
revelation  o!  the  \a\al  Scamlals  :?a\f  them  their  oppor- 
tunity, and  in  I'H-J  they  >  a  me  bai  k  to  [xi\\er  under 
the  gui-e  ot  a  constitutional  party.  The  -truggle  i-,  not 
•.  et  ended.  'I  he  ,S'//.'s//  hiit^u  and  the  ('fin  />.//•,//  uiil  (oii- 
tinue  tic-  lend  tor  m, iii\  a  Ion;;  sear,  .iIth"U;;h  ri  .ill  piob 
abilit\  the  1  ,t!.-r  \\  ill  be  di  -gui  e  1  as  the  Rikki-n  !  'o  Ink  n 
p.ut\,  and  the  t«nnier  \sill  be  alli--d  \\ith  some  pohtnal 
or/am/ation.  •  -nh'T  th(<  Seivukwai  or  it^  sui  ces^or,  for 


POLITICS  1/7 

the  Seiyukwai,  being  defeated  and  disgraced,  in  all 
likelihood  "will,  more  Japonico,  change  its  name.  Though 
names  may  change,  the  conditions  remain.  Yamagata 
is  still  Pope  in  Choshu,  even  though  Choshu  has  espoused 
constitutionalism,  just  as  MaKukata  is  in  Satsuma  and 
Yamajnoto  his  Vicegerent.  They  are  all  'true  men  of 
T'se,"  to  whom  none  are  so  good  as  their  own  clansmen. 

A  couple  of  weeks  of  (ienro  meetings  and  two  abortive 
attempts  at  Cabinet  building  by  Viscount  Kiyoura  and 
Hirata  (both  Yamagata  men)  resulted  in  Count  <  )kuma 
being  invited  from  the  wilderness.  A  Cabinet  was 
formed  by  Japan's  (i.O.M.,  of  which  the  principal 
personalities  are  Baron  Kato  and  Mr.  Oxaki,  the  remain- 
ing members  being  adherents  of  the  late  Prince  Katsura 
and  of  die  Rikken  Doshikai. 

Okuma  Shigenobu  was  born  in  1838  in  Hi/en  Pro- 
vince. When  the  Restoration  movement  broke  out  he 
was  entering  the  prime  of  life.  A  prominent  member  of 
one  of  the  four  Western  clans  which  broke  clown  the 
Shogunate  and  established  their  own  oligarchy  in  place 
thereof,  he  was  rewarded  for  its  services  with  the 
headship  of  the  department  which  in  the  first  form 
of  government  corresponded  to  the  Ministry  of  Home 
Affairs.  After  the  split  in  the  Sat-cho-hi-to  combination 
he  attained  the  leadership  of  the  Government,  but  being 
found  out  coquetting  with  the  democrats  to  advance 
Ilixen  interests  he  was  turned  out  by  Ito.  lie  then  took 
up  constitutionalism  in  earnest  and  formed  the-  Kensei 
Homo  in  1881,  remaining  its  head  until  1907.  He 
wa>  in  office  for  various  short  periods,  anil  from  June 
to  November  iSoS  Premier  ot  a  Coalition  Cabinet. 
Expelled  from  the  Privy  Council  on  account  of  his  political 
views,  he  has  been  boycotted  by  the  clans  and  the 
p.irties,  by  the  former  tor  his  refusal  to  abjure  party 
politics,  by  the  latter  for  refusing  to  abjure  his  principles. 

Seventy-seven  is  noi  a  great  age,  according  to  Count 
Okuma,  the  more  especially  as  he  is  determined  to  se.e 
out  the  century.  In  order  that  he  should  not  be  alone 
when  he  arrives  at  that  age,  he  formed  in  1912  a  club, 

12 


iy-S     JAPAN  AT  THE  CROSS  ROADS 

called  the  "  Want  to  lx>  a  Hunched  Club."  Candidates 
were  limned  to  men  of  -evenly -live  years  of  age,  who 
I-'ledged  themselves  to  live  to  be  a  hundred. 

Not*  idy  know-  what  to  make  of  the  veteran  Count. 
Seventeen  years  ago  he  was  Premier  for  live  months, 
ju-t  long  enough,  a-  the  Japane-e  said,  to  prove  that 
h»-  wa-.  no  state-man.  Last  year  he  again  became  Premier 
and  the  most  jiopular  man  in  Japan.  He  founded  the 
Japanese  Peace  Society,  but  in  I  <;  l  2  declared  himself 
a  militarist,  as  militarism  is  good  lor  the  country.  For 
years  In.-  criti<  i/ed  the  expansion  ot  armaments,  but  la-t 
yeai  dissolved  the  Uiet  lor  rejecting  a  large  increase 
in  the  Army  vote. 

Out  ot  otiice  he  declared  'the  national  finance-  will 
not  stand  naval  expansion,  military  expansion,  nor  tax 
reduction.'  Before  he  was  a  month  in  oilier  he  promised 
an  expansion  ot  the  lleet  by  three  battle-hips,  an  ex- 
pan-ion  of  the  arm;,  by  two  division.-,,  and  a  reduction 
of  taxi--  by  \  2  j),oOO.o  ><J. 

It  i-  perhaps  thc-e  (harming  inconsistencies  which  make 
<  onnt  Okuma  the  nio-t  popular  idol  the  Japanese  people 
have  i-ver  had.  Nolxnly  know.-  and  nobody  can  po-- 
sibl'.  gii'-s-  what  \'ii-w  he  will  take  on  a  subject,  or  hou 

long      he      Will     e-jMiU-e      the     Vle'As      he     has     adopted.  In 

lii-  '.ontli  he  wa--.  a  clan-niati,  and  after  the  Re-toration  a 
bureau'  lat.  He  ile^pi-"d  i-'uku/awa  and  Itagaki,  the 
leader-  "1  th'-  constitutional  movement.  .1-  "  vulgar  denia 
^ogu*--."  l):it  he  became  him-elt  a  eunstitutionali-t,  and 
tor  m<-d  a  '  o.i'm  jon  <  ai  unel  u  ith  Itagaki,  and  ha  •  f  m  yeai  ^ 
bt-r  n  the  nio  I  olll-poken  ot  all  |.ipain--e  in  his  liatle,! 
o|  ;h'-  iciireai!1  ra.  y.  Now  b.e  k  in  o!Iii  e,  he  de.  Lues 
'  beii'-lp  ent  bui'-aucrai  \  i-  a  good  loim  of  go\  ernment ,' 

and  '  ei  ta:ii  I1,  llo  olle  !l\  l!:g  111  |  a  pa  II  to-day  \\  ouid  in  lag  I  lie 
1 1 1.1 !  th  •  PJ  ein.er  u  a  -  <  >ku:na  I  he  I  >eino  i  at 

•  ikunia  a  •  •  :-t  •  <  \'-i\  pionn-  oi\  no'e  otii  p-d  him. 
.\;  In,  in  -t  nii-eting  \\ilh  the  Pio\i!uial  (io\einol-  he 

jio   al    m  id'-,    v.hi-thiT    i!     \\.is 
t    •, alary,   oi    an    extra    allow- 


roi.mcs  179 

He  is  indiscreet  to  ;i  decree.  A  few  years  ago  he 
said  that  '  300,000,000  natives  in  India  are  waiting  to 
be  freed  from  the  thraldom  of  (ireat  Britain,'  and  it 
t<x)k  a  long  explanation  to  show  that  he  had  not  meant 
what  the  words  meant. 

Okuma  ha-,  long  had  his  eye  on  China,  and  has  twice 
projx)sed  an  Anglo-Japanese  Kconomie  Alliance,  Kng- 
land  to  provide  the  money  and  Japan  the  brains  for 
the  exploitation  of  China,  and  he  was  much  disgusted  at 
the  cool  reception  the  proposal  met  with  in  Kngland. 

When  the  lirst  revolution  broke  out  in  1910  he  said 
Japan  nui-4  help,  not  hinder  China.  Last  year  (1914) 
he  said  Japan  could  not  help  China,  she  had  no  equipment 
beyond  an  army  and  a  navy.  Further,  he  said  that  his 
opinion  was  that  China  was  beyond  regeneration. 

In  1912.  addressing  the  Peace1  Society,  he  declared 
himself  a  militant,  militaiism  \\as  neces-ary  to  the  coun- 
try, and  cynically  |x>intcd  out  that  '  war  is  nearest  when 
protestations  of  peace  are  loudest.'  '  International  peace 
conferences,'  he  said,  '  are  the  forerunners  of  calamitous 
wars.' 

<  )kuma's  popularity  (Upends  upon  two  things,  the  lirst 
his  university,  secondly  his  influence  \vi:h  the  press.  He 
lounded  Waseda  I  "niver.-ity,  which,  though  a  private  con- 
cern and  boycotted  by  the  Imperial  Educational  authori- 
ties, is  the  best  educational  establishment  in  Japan, 
and  is  turning  out  in  large  numbers  a  type  of  student 
who  is  a  credit  to  the  country. 

It  is  the  Press  which  has  done  most  to  put  the  Count 
on  a  pedestal.  Himselt  a  journalist,  he  owns  the  Hochi, 
a  virulent  rag  with  an  enormous  circulation,  aid  the 
a  monthly  review  of  the  standard  of  the 
lie  is  always  glad  to  sec-  journalists,  and 
talk  to  journalists.  He  holds  a  daily  reception  (or 
them.  When  he  was  Premier  he  arranged  reception 
rooms  tor  them  in  his  official  residence,  and  fitted  up 
telephone  boxes,  and  provided  tree  lunches.  He  will 
talk  to  them  by  the  hour  on  anything  or  nothing.  His 
loquacity  is  proverbial.  He  has  been  nicknamed  Saburo 


I  So  JAPAN    AT   THE   CROSS    ROADS 

(llic  talkative)  on  account  of  his  loquacity,  and  'the 
groat  promiser,'  because  of  the  bright  hopes  he  raised-- 
when  in  opposition.  A  foreign  diplomat  described  him 
as  a  '  windy  old  gasbag  '  ;  a  leader  of  the  Seiyukwai 
as  a  '  genial  old  buffoon.'  Okuma  does  not  mind,  he 
talks  and  talks,  whether  he  knows  anything  of  the  subject 
under  discussion  or  not.  He  make*  more  speeches  a 
\ea:  than  any  other  man  eat.s  breakfasts.  He  is  the 
most  indiscreet  speaker  in  Japan.  He  is  no  re>j)ecter 
uf  per-ons,  exrept  of  the  Imj)erial  family. 

On  one  occasion  at  a  Press  banquet,  where  the  late 
Prince  I  to  was  a  guest,  he  got  up  and  assailed  the 
latter  roundly.  When  he  had  finished  he  sat  down,  and 
turning  to  I  to,  he  said  :  '  Your  character  is  finished." 
I  to  got  up  and  improved  on  his  example  ;  then  he 
turned  to  Okuma  and  said  :  "  So  is  yours,"  whereafter, 
laughing  heartily,  the  two  veterans  went  olT  into  the  next 
room  to  play  go. 

It  is  often  said  in  Japan  that  Okuma  cannot  be  taken 
seriously.  When  he  made  his  lirst  speech  before  the 
l)iet  last  year,  lie  began,  'Though  the  earth  is  yet 
fresh  on  the  grave  of  the  late  Kmperor,"  and  before  he 
got  an>  further  laughter  broke  over  the  House.  The 
idea  ol  Okuma  talking  seriously  was  irresistibly  funny. 
.\c\ertheless  there  is  a  lot  of  sound  common  sense  in 
his  utterances.  He  is  certainly  saturated  with  insular 
self-satisfaction,  but  he  is  also  aware  of  the  advantages 
to  Jap. in  of  grasping  enlightened  Western  principles,  and 
In-  knows  lull  wdl  that  only  the  show  part  of  these  have 
been  vi  tar  adopted. 

He  hate-,  writing.  He  dictates  his  articles  for  the 
pre-s,  and  never  prepares  a  sjK-ech.  He  has  only  \\ntten 
IIH  own  name  t\\i<e.  once  on  a  report  to  the  Throne,  and 
once  on  an  abstract  of  evidence  given  in  a  lawsuit. 
Japanese  \i-i!or>  ad.ipt  all  sorts  of  tn<  ks  to  g»-:  a  •>]*•(  mien 
of  hi-,  wri'ing  Once  a  visitor  took  his  little  son  to 
vi  it  him,  ami  in  th'-  i  ourse  of  i  oiiver  ^at  i<  >n  tlie  child, 
pro  lii'  ing  a  p'-n  and  paper,  ask'-d  (  )ktiina  to  write  a 
<haia<tei  he  had  u -ed  in  MX-. ikniL'  <)kuina  \\a>  lieari\ 


POLITICS  181 

caught.  Just  as  ho  was  putting  pen  to  paper  he  rocogni/ed 
the  trap,  dropped  the  pen,  and  taking1  a  stick  from 
the  hibachi  (charcoal  1>ra/ier),  traced  the  characters 
in  the  ashes.  It  is  not  surprising  to  learn  that  he  was 
bottom  of  his  class  in  penmanship  when  at  school,  hates 
the  ideographs,  and  has  long  supported  the  plans  to 
introduce  Roman  characters. 

How  does  he   live,   this   Pacifist-Militarist,   this   Dema- 
gogic-Bureaucrat,   who    makes    a    stump    speech    of    two 
hours'  duration  as  easily  as  his  COIIIIKXTS  drink  a  cup  of 
sake't      "  Rise  early,  exercise  early,  feed  well,  work  hard 
and  go  to  bed  early  and  you  will  live  to  be  a  hundred  !  " 
That  is  the  Count's  advice,  and  he  practises  it.      lie  gets 
up  at  five  every  morning.    With  the  aid  of  his  stick    (his 
right   leg  was  blown  off  by  a  bomb  thrown   by  a   would- 
be  assassin    in    1889),   he  walks   for  an   hour.      Then   he 
reads    the    morning   papers.      At    7    a.m.    he    breakfasts  : 
he  always  cats  Japanese  food,  and  never  drinks  alcohol. 
After    breakfast    he    receives    journalists,    granting    on    an 
average    ten    interviews   a    day    for    publication    purposes. 
From  ten  o'clock  he  receives  officials  and  other  visitors, 
talking,    as    a    Japanese    put    it,    '  without    bridle    on    his 
mouth,    foaming    with    his    own    eloquence.'      After    lunch 
he    takes    a    drive,    attends    meetings,    goes    slumming    or 
Cabinet   making  or  breaking  as  his  mood   may   be.      At 
4.30  p.m.  he  goes  home,  takes  his  bath  and  dines.    In  the 
evening    he    reads,    dictates,    and    talks.       '  Conversation 
is   my   hobby,'   he  once   said.      Commenting   on    this,    the 
late  Prince  I  to  is  rejK>rted  to  have  said  :    "  Conversation 
implies  two  persons  talking  together.      But   when  Okuma 
is  one  of  them,  the  other  has  to  listen  only." 

In  his  house   in   Tokyo  the   Count   maintains  the  state 
of  an  ancient  f/almyo,  and  is  called  by  his  fifty  retainers 
and  the  neighbours  Gozen,  a  feudal  title  meaning  '  Lord.'  ' 
His  wife  is  the  Countess  Ayako,  who  is  now  sixty -five 
years  of  age.     She  is  the  antithesis  of  her  lord  and  master, 
for   she    is   as   silent   as    he    is   verbose,   as   mild   as    he  is 
assertive,   and   as   stop-at-home   as   he    is   restless. 
1   He  was  created  Marquis  in  1916. 


182  JAPAN    AT    THK    CROSS    ROADS 

For    all    the    fun    that    is    (juicily    jx>ked    at    him.    the 
present   Premier  is  ra-ily  the  mo-t  |>opular  man   in  Tokyo 
to-day.       In    spite    of    hi-    political     inconsistency    he    ha- 
done   more;   than   any   man   to    purity    public    lite   in   Japan 
and   to   impro\e   th"   lot   of  the  common   jn-ople.      It    i-   a 
tribute   to   his   hi^li   character   and   to  the   innate   honeys 
ot  his  mind  that  it  wa-  hi-  .--\\orn  enemies.  the  arisincrats 
and  i  Ian-men,   who.  .ifter  keeping  him   in  the  wilderr.e. 
for    ni:;h    twenty    years,    put    him    into    oiii<  e    a^am    Ij-t 
year. 

The  principal  work  of  the  <  >kuma  Cabinet  has  been, 
cx>  lu-ive  of  the  war,  the.  smashing  of  the  Seiyuk\\.n. 
an  Dj)eration  in  whi"h  the  Cabinet  has  b"en  heartily 
supported  by  \'ama^ata.  who.se  ht'tc  noire  the  <lefeated 
party  has  been  since  IC;QI.  T'or  the  lir-t  time  Jap. in 
has  a  Cabinet  sup[x>rted  b\-  its  own  maiority  in  the 
House,  the  Chuscikai  hax'in;^  amalgamated  with  the 
Rikken  Doshikai.  \\hether  representatuc  ^<ivernment 
in  the  I-iritish  sens"  of  the  word  will  follow  is  doubtful. 
The  ptrsonnd  of  the  cabinet  i-.  distinctly  bureavicrati'  . 
by  jia-t  form.1 

It  is  to  be  wondered  if  an\-  mi!ii-tr\-  can  -uccessfully 
introduce  \\'e-tern  ideas  of  n-pre-cntatnc  government 
without  a  dra-tic  amendment  of  the  ( 'onstitution.  So 
Ion;1,  as  the  (  lans  bv  their  ion;rol  of  the  Mini-tries  of 
War  and  th"  \a\  v  <  an  br.-ak  a  <abi;:et.  -o  loni;  is  ;he 
Jinal  appeal  to  them.  I  he  e  two  po^:>  must  be  made 
a\ai!able  either  to  civilians  or  to  retired  otti- IT'S. 

The  (oiitrol  of  the  Diet  o\  er  tin. mi  e  mi;  t  be  made 
elld  live,  and  the  u-e  of  Imperial  nrtlmam  es,  of  \\hich 


POLITICS  1X3 

even    the    present    Cabinet    has    shown    a    fondness,    must 
he    invalidated. 

Ministers  must  he  made  responsible  to  the  Diet  lor 
the  advice  which  they  :;ive  to  the  Throne. 

Beyond  everything  the  politK  al  education  of  the 
people  mu>t  he  developed  on  a  much  wider  basi-,  to 
(lie  end  that  the  politit  al  value  of  the  hallot  may  Im- 
properly realized  and  that  the  administration  may  b<- 
for  the-  true  benefit  of  the  people  and  not  for  tip1  ex- 
clusive benefit  of  the  officials.  The  whole  tone  of 
political  life  must  be  altered,  and  members  understand 
that  the  letters  M.P.  nu-an  more  than  .social  prestige, 
imitations  to  Imperial  parties,  and  covert  avenues  to 
wealth.  The  I)iet  must  become  more  than  a  talking- 
shop  and  a  bargain-counter.  The  ( lenro  and  the  clans 
have  created  a  defence  work  of  class  interests,  and 
though  their  position  is  extra-constitutional,  and  though 
the  Constitution  has  no  room  for  them,  yet  they  got 
themselves  recognized  by  the.  late  Kmpcror  and  the 
present  Kmpcror.  Count  ( )kuma  has  uttered  brave- 
words  : — 

"  It  was  true,"  he  said,  "  that  tin-  Meiji  Tenno  had 
recognized  the  I  lenro  by  Imperial  Juliet,  but  even  the 
Meiji  Tenno  could  not  override  the  Constitution  by 
creating  a  body  not  provided  for  in  the  Constitution. 
lie  had  formed  his  Cabinet  at  His  Majesty's  order 
and  not  at  the,  order  of  the  (lenro.  So  long  as  he  was 
Premier  the  C.enro  would  not  be  allowed  to  interfere." 
Baron  Kato  lias  described  the  ('.euro  as  'past  history.' 
Will  they  be  able  to  keep  them  in  the  past,  or  will 
the  Klder  Statesmen  again  assert  themselves  in  the 
future?  From  Baron  Kato's  speech  in  the  Hiet  (May, 
19151  on  the  Sino-Japanese  negotiations  it  is  plain 
that  the  (lenro  influence  was  very  much  alhe. 

As  stated  above,  the  Okuma  Cabinet  came  into  office 
in  succession  to  that  of  Count  Vamagata,  which  fell 
as  the  result  of  the  Xaval  Bribery  case,  and  after 
strenuous  but  futile  efforts  had  been  made  to  per.-uade. 
Count  Terauchi  or  Viscount  Kivoura  or  other  of  the 


184  JAPAN    AT    THE    CROSS    ROADS 

Yama^ata  henchmen  to  accept  office.  From  the  first 
it  fa<ed  a  minority  in  tlie  l>i  t  which  the  Seiyukw.u 
controlled,  and  from  whom  nothing  hut  obstruction  was 

t«>  IK  c\p'-i  ted  nwin^  to  the  inclusion  in  it  of  Baron 
Kato  and  other  representatives  of  the  Rikken  Do-dnkai, 
the  party  torrned  by  the  late  Prince  Katsura  in  I  o,  i  } 
In  all  prohability,  however,  ihe  Seiyukwai  \\oild  not 
have  proceeded  to  extremes  but  for  the  introduction 
of  tin-  Two  I)i\is!ons  Hid.  the  m<  a-ure  which  had  been 
refu-ed  by  Marquis  Saionji  and  Mr.  Yamamoto  Tatsiio 
in  i  <>  i  2  and  <au-ed  the  boycott  of  the  War  Ministry 
by  the  Choshu  clan  and  the  consequent  fall  of  the 
Saionii  Cabinet.  ('oiint  <  >kuma  in  accepting  office  had 
accepted  the  principle  of  the  Hill  with  it,  understanding 
plainly  that  it  he  were  appointed  he  was  to  swallow 
the  Hill  and  introduce  an  appropriation  for  implement- 
ing (lie  -ame  in  it;  I  5.  as  the  Budget  for  1914  did 
not  permit  of  -uch  expenditure.  After  a  consultation 
uith  Baron  Kato  it  wa>  decided  that  other  and  the 
opportunity  ot  -nia-lun^  the  Seiyukwai  was  worth  the 
t\\o  di\i-;ons,  the  more  M>  as  a<  ( eptance  of  oitice  would 
be  a  di-tni't  Mep  touards  true  representative  ^ro\crn- 
ment.  the  [inn  ip'e>  o|  whii  h  both  statesmen  had  very 
inn  h  .it  heart  Acceptance  of  the  Bill  by  the  new 
(  "abinet  meant.  hou(\rr.  a  retraction  of  previous  nppo- 
-ition  to  it  by  many  of  the  rneinbi-rs  of  the  new  Mini-dry, 
,t  \ulti  jitc  ot  ulrch  Sei\ukwai  lifkld-,  took  lull 
ad\anta;.;e.  <  Mi  the  otlu-r  hand,  it  may  be  pointed  out 
that  the  arguments  ju.  \iously  u>ed  a.^ain^t  the  Bill 
v.ere  ba-ed  lar.;el\  on  financial  grounds,  and  when  the 
Hill  \\a>  finally  introduced  su<  h  arguments  were  no 
longer  \alid,  pro\-jded,  of  coiir-e,  that  the  military 
ie.i  on^  tor  the  increase  in  the  .Army  justified  the  «-x- 
p-ndi'ui'-.  lip-  S<r,ukwai  olij< •<  t<-il  to  the  Hill  no! 
be  an  ••  tlr  y  obj.  >ted  to  t!ie  expenditure  but  be<  ause 
they  \\<-\,  I'.-ttin;1.  nothin;.;  out  of  n,  and  the  Ministry 

U,  is      hot       1)1'  p  i;'     !      fo      b1:'.        ill'1      .1    i  he  re  IP   e      ot       the       whole 

part'.,    a      had    hitherto   b»--n   'he   usual   procedure        I-'iom 
'he    \er.     introdti'tion    of    :  he    measure    in    the    I)iet     it 


POLITICS  185 

was  clear  that  the  Lower  House  would  reject  it,  and 
the  choice  lay  before  the  Premier  of  dissolving  or  of 
awaiting  defeat.  Viscount  Oura,  educated  politically 
in  the  school  of  gold  pills,'  which  the  Klder  States- 
men had  conducted  in  the  earlier  days  of  the,  Constitu- 
tion, authorized  an  attempt  to  convert  a  section  of 
the  Seiyukwai  by  what  were  euphemistically  termed 
'  present^  '  and  '  loans.'  The  leader  of  the  Seiyukwai 
dissentients,  Itakura  Chu,  wanted  ¥300,000  to  form  a 
new  party,  the  Kosei  Kanyumi,  which  would  vote  in 
favour  of  the  Two  Divisions  Bill.  The  Viscount,  greatly 
erring,  only  provided  some  ¥40,000-50,000,  which  was 
paid  out  through  Mr.  Hayashida  Kamctaro,  Chief  Secre- 
tary of  the  House  of  Representatives.  A  number  of 
representatives  were  accordingly  bribed,  but  as  the  funds 
were  not  sufficient  to  go  round  handsomely  enough  some 
of  these  '  ratted  '  on  the  eventful  day,  the  Bill  was 
defeated,  and  the  Diet  dissolved.  A  new  General  Klec- 
tion  took  place,  and  owing  to  a  quite  unexpected  mishap 
the  whole  affair  came  to  light.  The  fact  of  bribery 
of  members  of  Parliament  created  comparatively  little 
stir,  even  though  the  Minister  of  Justice  was  Mr.  Ozaki. 
Probably  the  memories  of  some  members  of  the  Cabinet 
took  them  back  to  the  '  golden  days  '  before  they  were 
Ministers  of  State,  whilst  Mr.  Shimada  Saburo,  tin- 
Speaker  of  the  House,  must  have  recalled  the  happy 
arrangements  (Mr  MacClarcn  puts  his  price  at  ¥i  5,000) 
made  when  he  deserted  the  Kokuminto  for  Prince 
Katsura's  Doshikai.  What  was  really  annoying  was 
the  prospective  shadow  which  threatened  the  Corona- 
tion ceremonies,  preparations  for  which  were  then  in 
full  swing.  The  election  incident  directly  involved 
Viscount  Oura  in  obtaining  the  withdrawal  of  a  rival 
candidate  in  favour  of  a  Kosei  candidate,  Mr.  Shira- 
kawa  Tomoichi,  and  the  payment  of  ¥10,000  by  the 
latter  to  the  Viscount  for  party  funds.  There  was 
nothing  illegal  in  this,  but  a  Seiyukwai  member  who 
had  not  shared  in  the  Two  Divisions  bounty  and  had 
lost  his  seat,  as  had  most  of  his  party,  at  the  election 


iS6  JAPAN    AT    THK    CROSS    ROADS 

tiled  an  impeachment  of  the  Viscount  at  the  Ministry 
of  Ju-th  e.  This,  unlike  the  hints  thrown  from  pohtital 
rostrums,  could  not  be  ignored,  and  Mr.  <  >/aki  uas 
tori  ed  to  intervene.  \  iscount  '  >ura  prompt!)  n  signed 
and  bet  ame  tn/;yo.  The  Shirakaua  election  in<  ident 
was  probed,  the  Y  i  0,000  \\.i-,  found  to  be  in  tut 
money  repaid  by  Shirakawa  from  the  funds  provided  l>\ 
Hayashida  to  bribe  members,  and  Hayashida  and  a 
number  ot  members  and  ex-members  uere  put  on  trial. 
A  niusf  I'tli'hrc  developed  in  which  the  sympathies  ot 
press  and  people  appeared  to  be  in  favour  ot  the 
accused.  <  >ura  as  a  Minister  ot  State  uas  not  arrc-t-d 
or  tried,  the  Usual  formula  that  he  had  purged  hi- 
oiieti' e  by  resignation  heinj^  accepted.  In  tin-  <nd 
Haya-hida  \\a>  fined  Yi5')  and  thirteen  member-  were 
senteni  ed  ea<h  to  a  few  months'  imprisonment,  with 
the  beni  tit  of  suspension  ot  sentence,  thus  once  av,am 
demonstrating  that  briber)'  is  no  ot'i'enre  in  Jap. in.  The 
uhole  case  was  particularly  interesting'  because  ot  the 
i  onnedion  ot  <  )ura  v.ith  Yama^ata  and  (  )kuma,  with 
the  former  as  clan  <  hief  and  political  henchman  and 
v.ith  the  latter  a>  a  mdnber  of  the  Cabinet.  1  he  case 
a^am-t  <  >ura  is  \'er\'  -rnple  and  very  fragile,  and  it 
is  JIIMI  : i<  a  !)•  <erta;n  that  no  [apanese  court  would  even 
ha\  e  dared  to  (  on<!emn  li'in.  '1  hou;.;h  nominally  a  j>arty 
jxihti!  :an,  lie  u  a  -  \  i<  e-I'n  sidi-nt  ot  the  Doshikai,  he 
\\a-  .i<;ua!lv  in  the  Cabinet  to  repp-sen!  \'aina:;.i'a. 
uho-e  priiH  ipa!  anus  m  liie  a*  that  time  \\iic  to  -mash 
;he  Si-;\ukuai  and  pa-  th'-  I\\o  |)p,i  ion-  I'.ill.  I  he', 
i  .in  be  little,  it  ail)',  do'iot  tliat  in  adx.ilidni;  Itind-  to; 
tip-  ion\er~ioii  ot  Sei\i;kuai  member-  he  u.i-  adin 
uith  the  knoule'L1,'-  and  ta«i'  .ip;i!o\.d  ot  N'ama^ata, 
\'.ho.e  methoiU,  ind'-ed.  were  In-  MispiMn:;  example.  'I. i 
v.  hat  e\tent  ua  •-  <  'l.unia  pi  l .  v  to  ;  h>  tads  V  I  h-  c. did  a  1 
•UpposMioii  ua  th.it  <"ua  \\.i-  ji'it  into  olli.  e  1m  thi- 

\et)        ptl  I  po    e    ;        h"      Uas      p'lini    -te.l       IJonie      M'Dl     !'    I      altel 

'he    dl    -olutioM.    an  1,    a      u  a       -hieudlv      tat'd   at    lie     tune. 
-.'.  ;'h    iii   tin    t  :on-    !o    '  mana.;e  '    the    i  •!.•.;  n  in  •,    and    \\  hdi 

h'-      le     l;;n«-d      \.I\-         Hi    ele      -  ,  I  ,  \  j  1. 1'  h )'      ua-     e\jile,~ei|     \\  \{\\ 


POLITICS  187 

him  l>y  both  the  Premier  and  15. iron  Kato.  It  is  at 
least  a  justifiable  surmise  that  the  Cabinet,  being  deter- 
mined to  uproot  the  Seiyukwai  e\il  influence,  stooped 
to  fi:;ht  them  with  it-,  own  weapon-,  and,  though  suc- 
cessful, was  itself  hamstrung  in  the  effort.  I  low  far 
Prince  Yamagata  double-crossed  the  Cabinet  i-,  unknown, 
hut  it  is  shrewdly  observed  that  by  the  (  Jura  attair 
Yamagata  not  only  ouied  the  Sciyukwai  but  at  the 
same  time  purged  the  government  ot  the  leaders  of  the. 
l)oshikai.  The  Premier,  more  Jiiponico,  tendered  his 
own  resignation  and  thai  of  all  the  Ministers  to  atone 
for  the-  offence  of  his  subordinate,  but  alter  a  meeting 
of  the  (ienro  Count  Okuma  was  restored  to  office  with 
a  reconstructed  Cabinet,  from  which  Baron  Kato,  Mr. 
\Vakatsuki,  and  the  principal  leaders  of  the  Doshikai 
were  absent.  So  once  again  existed  a  Ministry  nearly 
independent  of  party,  but  it  was  clearly  understood  and 
officially  stated  that  the  Premier  would  resign  at  a 
convenient  time  after  the  Coronation  and  when  certain 
important  affairs  had  been  adjusted.  In  all  likelihood 
the'  plea  that  Okuma  was  kept  in  office  so  as  not  to 
depress  the  sanctity  of  the  Coronation  year  was  mi-rely 
eye-wash,  for  the  year  of  the  death  of  the  Meiji  Tcnno 
had  not  been  a  sufficient  reason  for  Yamagata  to  post- 
pone the  I'ehara  boycott,  with  its  di.-astrous  con-e- 
([iiences  to  the  nation.  Ik-sides  Okuma  himself  was 
unable  to  take  part  in  the  supreme  Coronation  ceremony 
because,  being  a  cripple,  he  was  unclean.  Yamagata 
wanted  (  >kuma  in  office  because  the  latter  was  the  only 
statesman  capable,  of  passing  the  Army  Kxpansion  Bill 
through  tin4  I)iet  without  serious  opposition.  Although 
he  had  forced  mo-t  of  the  l)o.-hikai  leaders  out  of 
the  Cabinet  he  could  not  instal  a  purely  clan  Ministry, 
which  could  rely  on  sufficient  parliamentary  support 
to  pass  contentious  mea-ures.  <  >kuma,  if  kept  in  office, 
could  manage  the  Doshikai.  and  the  Doshikai,  though 
out  of  office,  were  willing  to  support  the  Premier  pro- 
vided a  reversion  to  office  were  given  them  on  his 
resignation.  Accordingly  it  was  announced  bv  Reuter 


i88  JAPAN    AT   THE   CROSS   ROADS 

that  when  Marquis  Okuma  should  eventually  resign 
Baron  Kato  would  succeed  him  as  the  head  of  a 
Doshikai  Administration,  and  the  wiseacres  all  agreed 
that  tin-  era  of  true  representative  government  was  about 
to  begin  in  Japan.  The  hand  of  <  >da\vara  had,  however, 
by  no  means  lost  its  running,  and  when  Marquis  <  )kuma, 
pleading  fatigue,  laid  down  the  seals  of  otVi< e,  it  was 
not  to  a  party  leader  that  the  call  was  sent  but  ;o  die 
most  stalwart  of  all  the  sons  of  Choshu,  (ieneral  Count 
Teraurhi,  the  ex -Governor-(  ieneral  of  Korea. 

Terauchi  Masakata  was  born  in  1X52  in  Choshu,  and 
in  liis  nineteenth  year  became  a  sub-lieutenant  in  the 
army.  Fighting  on  the  Imperial  side  in  the  Civil  \Var 
the  ligaments  of  the  right  arm  were  severed,  and  he 
lias  passed  through  life  since  with  this  limb  completely 
useless,  a  hindrance  which  has,  however,  had  no  etlect 
soever  on  his  advancement  or  utility.  In  1X82  he  was 
sent  to  France  to  study,  and  returned  from  that  country 
with  a  considerable  fund  of  logic  and  a  more  than 
usual  development  of  the  bump  of  organi/ation.  He 
demonstrated  this  with  no  little  success  as  Chief  Trans- 
[Kirt  (  Miner  dm  ing  the  China  \\'ar.  It  has  been  said 
of  Terauchi  that  he  is  all  brain,  and  it  is  true  to  a 
\ery  large  extent.  <  hvmg  to  phy-i<  al  disability  debarred 
from  "many  of  the  u*ual  pleasures  of  his  equals,  he  make*, 
up  for  it  by  a  greater  devotion  to  work.  As  Vice-Chief 
of  the  (ieneral  Stall  under  Kat-ura  he  soon  drew  the 
latter'*-  attention  to  his  merits,  and  when  Katstira  became 
Prime  Minister  Terauchi  became  bis  Minister-  of  \\'ar. 
This  [>ost  he  held  until  i<>i\.  It  is  not  too  much  to 
sa\  that  the  triumvirate  of  Katsura,  Terati  hi.  and  l*hi- 
inoid  (the  \ 'i'  '--Minister  i  ran  Japan  during  that  period. 
They  \\en-  in  many  way*,  a  remarkable  trio,  and  not 
the  lea^t  .so  in  their  capa>  ity  for  work  (.real  workers 
as  Katsura  and  Tera'.i  In  wen-,  I  dnnioto  w.is  an  even 
greater,  and  the  Lite  Sn  (  laiide  Ma>  I)on.dd.  l«>r  so  many 
y.irs  the  distingui^ln-d  Mntish  represen:.tti\-e  at  th'- 
lapaiie^r  ('oiirt.  at  tli'-  tune  of  the  death  oj  the  \'ic<  - 
Mini -ter  laughingly  as^-ried  that  he  had  never  heard 


1'OLITICS  189 

even  a  rumour  of  Ishimoto  getting  any  sleep  during 
the  war. 

Tcrauchi  was  largely  responsible  for  the  strategy  of 
the  Russo-Japanese  War,  both  from  having  been  Vice- 
Chief  of  the  General  Stall  under  Kodania  when  the  plan 
of  campaign  was  evolved  in  the  years  immediately  pre- 
ceding the  outbreak  and  as  head  of  the  Staff  College 
after  the  conclusion  of  the  Chinese  War.  An  American 
journalist  lias  said  that  '  organization  '  is  Terauchi's 
second  name,  and  it  is  by  no  means  a  silly  remark. 
To  him  to  a  great  extent  is  due  the  system  of  constant 
drill,  preparation,  and  prevision  which  is  characteristic 
of  Japanese  official  action,  whether  in  war  or  peace. 
He  is  a  terrible  stickler  for  order,  for  having  the  right 
thing  in  the  right  place  at  the  right  moment,  and 
thence  came  his  excellence  as  a  transport  officer  and 
as  a  Minister  of  War  in  war-time.  The  same  qualities 
are  observable  in  his  administration  of  Korea,  of  which 
he  was  Governor-General  from  1911  to  1915.  Though 
his  rfgimc  was  blotched  by  various  scandals,  as  the 
so-called  Conspiracy  Case  and  the  constant  rapacity 
of  the  Oriental  Colonization  Company,  it  has  been  of 
enormous  benefit  to  the  country,  and  restored  it  from 
a  condition  of  indigency,  revolution,  and  poverty  to  one 
of  prosperity,  order,  and  progress,  and  affords  a  striking 
contrast  to  the  miserable  conditions  which  obtain  in 
the  much  older  dependency  of  Formosa,  a  colony  which 
is  the  world's  outstanding  example  of  how  not  to  govern. 

As  a  clansman  of  Choshu  and  a  close  adherent  of 
Prince  Vajnagata  it  is  almost  needless  to  say  that 
Terauchi  is  a  bureaucrat,  and  the  personnel  of  his 
Ministry  leaves  no  doubt  that  the  new  Cabinet  is  a 
reversion  to  the  Cabinets  of  Katsura  days.  It  includes 
only  adherents  of  feudalism — or  as  it  is  termed  nowadays, 
Imperialism.  From  the  names  of  the  Ministers  it  would 
appear  that  militarism  is  now  again  on  the  ramp.  Mr. 
W.  E.  Griftis,  than  whom  there  is  no  more  able  com- 
mentator on  things  Japanese,  sees  in  the  new  appoint- 
ments another  bid  for  further  national  expansion,  with 


IQO  JAPAN    AT    THK    CROSS    ROADS 

the  brake  on  the  more  ardent  spirits  removed  by  the 
gradual  disappearance  of  the  (ieiiro.  My  own  opinion, 
for  what  i:  is  worth,  i-  that  the  new  Premier  ui!l  prove 
(if  nun  h  greater  a--i-tamv  to  tlie  Allies  than  ever  ( 'otint 
•  >kuma  \va-.  Count  Terau>  hi  is  extremely  pro-Frenrh 
in  -entimer.t,  and  ha-  no  pn>-(  ierman  -ympathie-  what- 
-o'-vcr.  Hi>  patron,  Prince  Yama^ata.  i-  of  the  same 
Jr. nne  of  mind.  it  i-  quite  certain  that  so  Ion:; 
a-  hi-  i-  at  the  helm  there  will  be  no  more  talk 
o!  Jap. in  be:n;4  a  -emi  -  neutral. '  It  may  be  that 
the  "1  eraiu  hi  Mini-try  will  not  be  able  to  outlive  a 

•-MOI1     of     the     l)let,     but     the    IleW    premier     1>>     stroll;;     .111(1 

able,  .ind  M  liooled  in  the  manipulative  politics  of  Yama- 
Xat.i  and  Kat.-ura,  ^'»  that  lie  may  by  a  '  po-itivt*  ' 
ford^n  policy  that  cry  dear  to  p:v-s  a;:*!  j)eoj>le  be 
able  to  rule  the  re-ti\'e  Diet  succes-fully .  {-'(jually  likely, 
ho\se\cr,  i-  it  that  In-  tenure  of  otlnv  i-  intended  only 
to  be  temporary,  previou-  to  retiring  from  public  life 
to  Mep  into  the  -hoe-,  ot  Yama_;ata  a-  tin-  ri-pre-entative 
of  Chii-hn  in  the  inner  councils  of  the  j>alace.  The 
.iL;ed  Prune  <  annot  ionu;  a\<»id  paying  the  debt  to 
N.rure.  lull  it  i-  quite  i  ertain  that  he  \\ill  n->i  do  NO 
uni:!  he  ha-  nominated  a  -uccex>or  und-'r  the  \'erarnla. 
li\  lir-t  the  deteition  and  then  the  death  of  Kat-ur.i 

1(1.1,1    hi     !-    oli\loiis!y    lh.it     -U'  re--or,    by    I'e.i-oHot    birth, 

ol     in.iri  la-'e    tie-,    -en:  unent ,    and    career. 


I'HAI'TKK    F01'k 
FINANCK.    INDl'STKY,    AND    (OMMKHCK 

I 'ART     I 

THK  conduct  of  the  pi)s(-l)c!ltini  finance  is  the  true 
cause  of  the  parlous  coiulition  of  Japanese  finances 
at  the  present  time.  Instead  of  the  end  of  the  war 
marking  the  commencement  oi  a  golden  era,  as  the 
nation  hail  been  taught  to  believe  it  would,  an  era 
during  which  Japan  aided  by  an  enormous  indemnity 
would  develop  Tier  manufactures  and  trade  and  cconomi/e 
on  her  administrative  expenses,  the  signature  of  peace 
brought  not  a  .sou  of  indemnity  and  marked  the  begin- 
ning;' of  a  crisis  ihe  acutencss  of  which  has  hardly  yet 
(in  official  circle.-  at  least)  been  truly  recognized  and 
the  end  of  which  is  still  atar  otT. 

Fed  by  the  authorities  with  extravagant  ideas  of  the 
victorv  that  bad  been  won  over  Ktis-ia,  the  people 
naturally  developed  similar  ideas  of  the  prosperity  which 
mu-t  attend  Mich  a  victory.  Money  was  cheap  owing 
to  the  inilux.  of  tin-  \\ar  loans  raided  abroad,  the 
company  promoter  was  active-  and  the  investor  was 
umiMially  trusting.  '1  he  boom  went  to  mad  heights, 
and  the  awakening  was  the  usual  one  after  a  bout  ot 
wild  dissipation.  To  make  matters  worse  the  (Govern- 
ment by  the  nationali/ation  of  the  railways  had  removed 
from  the  reach  ot  the  investor  the  only  good  security 
on  a  large  scale  which  the  country  possessed. 

"  If  the  tiger  or  the  rhinoceros  escapes  from  its 
cage,  if  the  gem  be  injured  in  its  casket,  wh  >se  is  the 
fault?  " 


192  JAPAN    AT   THK   CROSS    ROADS 

There  were  of  course  innumerable  scoundrels  who 
made  fortunes  out  of  the  people  at  that  time,  and 
many  of  the  leading  banks  and  commercial  concerns 
were  not  above  lending  their  name  and  protection  to 
the  most  rotten  scheim-s  known  since  the  South  Sea 
Hubble.  Hut  the  real  blame  must  be  laid  an  the 
shoulders  of  the  late  Prince  Katsura  ami  the  (ienro. 
Although  the  Saion;i  Cabinet  was  in  office  in  1006 
;uid  1907  it  was  on  such  terms  that  Katsura  controlled 
it->  policy  and,  according  to  Count  Hayashi,  even  drew 
up  its  Hudget.  It  was  Katsura  wluj  was  responsible 
for  the  enormous  inflation  of  tin-  national  conceit  alter 
the  war,  as  also  for  the  enormous  inllation  of  debts 
and  expenditure. 

The  jxjsition  was  absurd.  Russia,  though  defeated 
in  battle,  had  fought  Japan  to  a  standstill.  Th.it 
country  could  not  put  another  man  or  gun  in  the-  field 
and  was  holding  a  line  three  hundred  miles  in  length. 
Her  financial  resources  were  finished  and  she'  could 
not  raise  more  money  anywhere-  ior  war  purposes.  She 
made  peace.  She  had  to  !  By  it  .she  gained  the  South 
Manchurian  Railway,  the  Kuantung  Peninsula,  the 
southern  halt  of  Saghalien,  and  1)4,800,180  refunded, 
being  the  tost  of  the  maintenance  of  the  Russian 
prisoners  of  war.  In  addition  she  obtained  the  privi- 
lege of  carrying  on  her  own  shoulders  Y  1 ,37  2,  i  i  5,  570 
of  funded  debt,  raided  to  uage  the  war  with.  Any 
sane  Cabinet  fa<  ed  \utli  MH  h  a  condition  of  allairs  would 
have  reah/ed  that  they  were  up  against  a  M-MOUS  [no 
|>osition  and  would  have  de<  ided  to  go  >low,  anyhow 
lor  a  \\hile.  In  Japan  sti<  Ji  a  reasonable-  step  as  pulling 

III     a     bit     Would     not     do.        It     llllgllt     ha\e     Ix'eli     tolr-tlllr>i 

.1-1  .1   loss  of   '  face." 

'I  he  nation. il  finaix  e-,  are  a  matter  of  uhhh  the 
leader^  nl  tli--  Army  and  the  \a\y  know  absolutely 
IP  •thin,;  and  <are  le-.s.  I'll-1  i  laiis  were  on  the  top  of 
tin-  v>.i\e,  i  rcated  (eit.iinly  by  their  oun  j»!o\\e,s,  .tinl 
intended  to  \i-<-  their  (Million  to  obtain  e\ci\  advantage. 
1  hey  a<iordingl\  indented  on  the  Mnii-tiy  foi  l.u  larger 


FINANCK,    INDUSTRY,    AND    COMMKKCK     193 

appropriations  than  c\cr  before.  The  Budget  of  1907-8, 
the  first  after  the  collapse  of  the  boom,  came  there- 
foil-  as  a  shock  to  the  world.  The  promises  held  out 
in  the  previous  ye.ir  of  a  reduction  of  taxation  and 
a  redemption  of  debt  were  entirely  shelved,  and 
instead  a  total  increase  of  expenditure  amounting  to 
¥138,000,000  was  shown,  necessitating  a  considerable 
increase  in  taxation. 

The  Army  and  Navy  were  responsible  for  an  augmen- 
tation of  V  109,000,000,'  whilst  the  Finance  Department 
absorbed  Y 3 /, 000,000  more  than  in  the  previous  year, 
and  Communications  Y22, 000,000  more. 

It  was  with  the  demands  of  the  Army  and  Navy  in 
1907  that  the  present  financial  crisis  began,  and  it 
has  been  continued  by  the  necessity  of  completing  the 
programmes  then  approved  and  by  the  addition  of  other 
programmes  of  not  less  magnitude.  \Yith  the  popular 
idea  of  a  \ictorious  war  to  support  them  one  cannot  cavil 
at  some  reasonable  expansion  of  the  Army  and  Navy, 
but  the  demands  made  since  1900  have  been  quite 
abnormal  and  out  of  keeping  with  the  requirements  and 
resources  of  the  country. 

The  Budget  ol  1907  and  all  succeeding  Budgets  have 
only  been  able  to  be  balanced  by  the  introduction  into 
the  revenue  account  of  surpluses  from  preceding  years, 
by  loans,  anil  by  cross-transfers  from  various  accounts. 

The  surplus  is  the.  most  elusive  item  in  the  whole  of 
the  Japanese  accounts,  which,  to  quote  the  Jiji  Shimpo, 
must  have  been  devised  for  the  sole  purpose  of  defeating 
investigation.  What  is  a  surplus?  is  as  difficult  to 
decide  as  1'ontius  i'ilate's  What  is  truth?  One  thing 
which  is  quite  certain  is  that  it  is  not  what  it  is  supposed 
to  be.  In  ordinary  parlance  a  surplus  should  be  the 
excess  of  revenue  over  expenditure.  According  to  the 
Japanese  system,  however,  it  is  the  amount  from  an 
invisible  reserve  which  is  used  to  balance  the  excess  of 
expenditure  over  revenue.  It  may  be.  a  legitimate  surplus 

1   Including  Y-ji;,ix>vxx)  reward-;  anil  pensions,  \\luch  were  i^nud  in 
bonds  though  li^urin^  in  the  Budget  as  cash. 

13 


1^4  JAPAN    AT    T11K    CROSS    ROADS 

or  it  may  consist  of  the  residues  of  loans,  01  rveii  ol 
new  loans  or  of  the  unexpended  deparlnient.il  balances, 
or  merely  of  book  entries. 

If  we  examine  Table  2  of  The  f  inaneiul  Annual  of 
the  Department  ol  l:imince  /or  i  <;  i  4  surplus  would 
cippear  to  have  its  normal  significance,  but  if  we  examine 
Table  }  in  the  .same  the  figures  are  in  many  cases  quite 
dilTerent. 


Kv; 


i«<"-J-5                              ."<'.  >'  i  .-  -"4 

i<*>^  '>                        i  :  .}  -;  i  ^.  i>7 

=.'>.4  :  i  ..'^  ^ 

I.,'-  7                              f".!7-'.-"i 

57,i'*'.vS 

i'f~  *                       -';!.'  sj.s.sX 

'•s  l'7-"->'>7 

i.^'N  <)                         i  ;*o7<»  i'-7 

:>"».»  .N.-.^.VS 

>>•>  \<>                        i.|.|fi5-v«.|; 

i  .-s  ;7'..i''7 

•  iio-i  i                           IM;  7  in  7-0 

i.H"-1''-)^ 

1^1  1-  1  j                            71  .>  r/.Ut-S 

lot,-1  ;7.7-<- 

•>!-'    i;,                           «).;.  7>  /•.'•.-•) 

i               7i.Ni7.'-«»-s 

'<!   ^      '    J  ' 

'u.  ''.'.'.  <<7^ 

''M-'5'                           'i\.',:2  --;^ 

7'  >.ui.;  -  1  } 

In  i<,<>7  the  urj'!u->  ot  Y  j  -  4,'  >S  j,s  ;,S  \\.i>  represented 
by  o\cr  \  j()i),o<  'i.ooo  drawn  t;<ini  balances  (if  the 
\\\if  loan-  Mib>>c  nb'-'l  1:1  Iv.ii'o]»e  pl'.i-  \  .}  S. '  -00,0  >o  re - 
<ei\i-d  tr"iu  I\u->ia  on  aeecunt  ol  tli--  maint' nan« c  ot  the 
pri-oncr^  of  uai.  In  somi-  oth  -r  yiars,  a^  aliead\  >UL;- 
L;c-lt-il,  surp'.u-  has  at  T-a  I  bern  hd]><-d  l>y  ir\riiue 
!•:..(••  ihn.;  e  tiniates.  if.ijM:ic-e  hnancial  i  -tmia'.e-  ar<- 
II'  Moi  i<  Hi  Iy  tail!;  \' .  ) 

Io  \\lia!  c\tent  t!i(-  mi' xp'-ndi-d  balatii'c-  hom  d  j.iit 
nn-iiial  \ott-  i-  in  !ii'l'-«l  i:.  ili'  -urjil'is  \,  doir  •;  fi:I.  ihon.'h 
I  bellrv'1  that  i!  i-  !)'>A  ih--  jna  !;•'•  'o  in-i-t  "\\  ^u.  !i 
balall-  ••>  belli;.;  r«-fu!.dcd  to  (hi-  ('elitlal  Tlea-'.llY  )<•! 
;ii'  !;i  ;i  >:i  in  lip-  :  c:,«  :a!  -  :r  '  'u  lull  I  •>  \  .'  \\  \\  a  .  no- 
!  1 1 '  •  l :  i  •.  a  :  :  a  i  •  1  •  •  [  •  I  i  <  ', :  >  <  • ,  .  i  •  i  1  w  .  1 1 1  t  i  i  •  •  \\  a  r  and  \  a  \  y 


HNANCK,    INDUSTRY,    AND    COMMKKCK     195 

Department^  it  was  never  the  pia<  tire.  According  to 
a  statement  made  in  ilie  Diet  in  i  <;  i  >  the  unexpended 
balances  in  1  <;  i  2  amounte<l  t<>  Y. So, 000,000.  The  Board 
of  .Audit  has  on  various  occasions  drawn  attention,  though 
perfunctorily,  to  the  practice  of  departments  skinning 
the  Treasury  of  unexpended  sums.  I  suppose  the  clans 
regard  the  Okitru-sho  as  fair  game,  in  much  the  same 
way  as  income-tax  payers  do  the  assessor.  Anyhow, 
they  always  put  in  a  sufficiently  large  estimate  to  allow 
for  liberal  discounting,  and  stick  to  any  unconsidered 
trifles  on  which  they  can  lay  their  hands.  Cases  have 
not  been  unknown  where  votes  have  been  put  in  three 
years  in  succession,  duly  allowed,  and  the  money  never 
expended.  .Whilst  this  is  not  a  particularly  honest 
course,  it  is  not  graft  as  it  is  understood  abroad.  The 
money  does  not  go  into  anybody's  pocket.  It  is  care- 
fully reserved,  and  forms  a  sort  of  emergency  fund 
for  the  department.  It  was  out  of  such  a  iund  that 
the  Navy  Department  advanced  Y  1,000,000  in  July, 
i<;i.>,  to  one  of  the  dockyard  firms  which  found  itself 
in  difficulties.  It  is  out  of  a  similar  fund  that  the  War 
Office  finances  its  China  propaganda.1 

The  principal  difficulty  with  which  any  Minister  of 
Finance  in  Japan  is  faced  is  the  curtailment  of  the 
demands  of  the  Army  and  Navy  to  an  amount  which 
would  be  proportionate  to  the  national  resources.  That 
is  the  backbone  of  the  whole  trouble,  and  if  once  it 
could  be  accomplished  it  would  be  possible  to  remit 
taxation  and  to  start  on  a  real  redemption  of  the  National 
Debt. 

'  \Vh.it  a  surplus  is  or  is  n»t  m:iy  be  leathered  from  the  note  attached 
to  tin-  n)i2-i^  Hud^ct.  as  foil •  .\\-s  ; — 

"The  surplu^  carried  forward  from  the  fiscal  vear  1010-11  to  the 
present  fiscal  Year  i<)ii  u  was  Yioi. 247.705.  Ik-ducting  from  this  a 
sum  of  Y4S,ooo,o(xi  as  revenue  to  meet  expenditure  carried  forward,  a 
balance  is  left  of  \'53. ^47.71)5.  Of  this  a  Mini  of  about  Y^i  .(XXVCXKI  is 
reserved  for  the  Supplementary  lUidv^et  and  other  indispensable  ex- 
penditures, a  balance  of  YJM  ,7o-\<vxi  beint;  left.  Of  this  last 
Yt8, 1x17, 717  is  drawn  tor  the  present  estimates  to  balance  expenditure, 
leaving  a  sum  of  about  Y^, 700,000  for  supplementary  purposes." 


K/>  JAPAN    AT    THK    CROSS    ROADS 

Ihe  normal  expenditure  of  tin-  country  ha-  n>eii  from 
N  J4'>.  ;<>' .  i  ;  i  in  100^-4,  the  year  before  the  Russian 
\\.ir,  to  V5  59, 7517,598  for  tin-  year  1914-13. 


i'i".i   4  i<<!4    I.S 

Yi  11  \(  n 

Impel  i.il    H'  u-'-li'  •  !()..  4,y»','\»> 

K'-n-i^n    AIM-.:  -                            .'.71  V>44  \.>>~».<,<\ 

I!-. nit-  Alf.ui         ]".*^4~<i-  n/>4>.i;'. 

l-'Mi.ifui-    =;.'.i<;5.i4.*  i^.s4'';  v..- 

i  i. 7' '4.4  i" 
".>«4."i4 


4 -'>;;"  ;4 

i  _; .  > .- ; .  1 1 » • 

.''(.17;  I".v,.v''.i 

S7/'.V '  S".7v  j  i  i  i 

<•;.;'•"  4'-;  u  is 

r  ;.'/•  •  •  i.'  ;.',')7 1 

Jv4''4  7.W77" 

7«,  -,:  .'17  14 


!•  roiii     ihe-e     (inures,     u 
UK  re.i>e^   ate    in    th-     dej)  u 

aii'l   the    \a\;.  .      \\hll-t    :! 

lerntoMal    .1'  i  jll!--:t  loll>    lia'.e    !Ill]ni    .-il    ail    .t(l(ii:  jotl.ll    I'tltdeii 

I'ii  thi  iM'ion.  tin-  ha-  onl-,  i>i---n  +»  ui'!iie<  '  l\  .  lorino^a. 
Kuantun/,  the  S'r.i'h  Main  hill  lan  l\ai!ua\.  K'Me.i.  aii'l 
N.i-.'.ha  !n  n  ha\e  ea1  h  ep.nate  liiii'.^ets,  a::'l  only  li;;liie 
;n  the  i:.i'i"':a!  ai'oUtit-  "t  to  «iav  to  the  -nial!  li.tal 
•  <\  \  i  i ,'  ;•  ;,  liein:;  ill--  t'.ral  "t  tin-  -rant  -  Irom 

the  iiational  tie.)  ui\  t"  til--  a'lnnn:  tra!:on  ..|  K"i«.i. 
>aL'h.ii!en.  ami  K  \\  an  tun;;. 

Th'-    h'-a\  \    iii'  rea-e    in    ilie    c-iini.t'c-    lur    the    1'  in, tni. i; 


FINANCK,    INDUSTRY,    AND    COMMKRCK     107 

Department  is  due  to  the  enormous  burden  of  the 
National  Debt,  which  now  absorbs  V  142,000.000  per 
annum  in  interest  and  redemption,  to  the  expenses  for 
the  collection  of  taxes  (about  Y I  1 ,000,000 1,  and  to 
the  charges  of  the  Deposit  Bureau,  a  similar  amount. 

With  regard  to  the  Army,  there  is  no  doubt  \\hat- 
soever  that  this  is  administered  in  a  mo-t  extravagant 
and  wasteful  manner.  The  events  of  the  constitutional 
crisis  in  1 1;  i  2  showed  very  dearly  that  considerable 
retrenchment-^  were  possible  in  military  finance,  but  that 
tin-  Chosliu  leaders  were  unwilling  to  allow  such  retrench- 
ment unless  tin-  money  so  saved  was  re-devoted  to  them 
for  further  expansion.  Whether  Japan  really  needs  tin 
enormous  army  which  she  maintains  is  extremely  doubt- 
ful. At  various  times  the  Chauvinists  have  advanced 
three-  different  arguments  for  the  maintenance  of  this 
large  force.  The  first  was  the  prospect  ol  a  iiucrn' 
tic  rc\(Uichc  by  Russia,  the  second  the  constant  possi- 
bility of  trouble  with  China,  the  third  the  necessities  of 
the  Anglo-Japanese  Alliance.  Kven  if  every  one  ol 
these  had  been  a  good  justification  in  the  past,  not  one 
remains  to-day.  Russia  by  the  time  the  Creat  War  is 
finished  will  not  be  looking  for  more  trouble  in  the 
Far  Mast.  She  will  have  enough  to  do  to  consolidate 
her  new  territories  and  to  develop  her  industries  and 
commerce,  which  will  keep  her  occupied  for  main  years. 
China  is  now  a  republic,  and  her  principal  hope  is 
to  be  allowed  peace  and  quiet  to  settle  down.  China 
will  not.  make  war  on  Japan  nor  on  any  other  nation 
unless  she  is  forced  to  by  foreign  aggression.  The 
possibilities  of  trouble-  with  China  lie  in  tin-  hands  of 
Japan,  not  in  those  of  China.  The  Anglo-Japanese 
Alliance  has  very  little  to  do  with  Japan's  military 
torces.  Tlu*  only  country  against  which  a  big  Japanese 
army  could  be  uiili/ed  is  Russia,  and  it  has  been  a 
cardinal  point  ot  British  policy  to  make  friends  with 
Russia,  a  country  where  British  capital  is  going  to 
take  the  place  of  (ierman.  The  capture  of  Tsingtau 
is  almost  the  only  conceivable  military  operation  where 


198  JAPAN    AT    THK    CROSS    ROADS 

the  Japanese  army  roulcl  he  of  service  to  (ireat  Hritain. 
The  other  possibility  is  that  of  an  anti-foreign  rising 
in  China.  The  employment  of  a  Japanese  anny  in 
Kurope  or  in  India  is  incredible.  To  bei^in  with  the 
expense  would  l)c  appalling,  and  secondly,  such  a  course 
would  require  the  amendment  of  the  Japanese  Constitu- 
tion. 'I  here  i->  no  adequate  rea.son  at  present  for  [.ip.m's 
Iarj4<'  army,  .md  then-  will  be  even  less  reason  after  the 
termination  of  the  war.  A  -mailer  standing  army  and 
a  wider  system  of  manhood  training  would  elicit  a 
considerable1  saving  in  money,  would  maintain  military 
prestige  and  etlu  i<  n< y,  and  assist  considerably  to  reduce 
the  cost  of  living. 

"I  he    case    of    the     Navy    is    on    a    different     footing. 
K\ery     insular    ami    maritime    nation    requires    a    MKUI;.; 

lire!     for     Its    own     del'ell'e    and     that     of     Its     trade     lollies. 

and  Japan's  Navy  has  therein  its  |u>t  il\<  at  ion .  .\!-<> 
by  notes  attat  hed  to  the  AIIL;!O- Japanese  Alliance  the 
Na\y  has  to  be  maintained  at  a  <  ertain  level.  The 
Jap.ine-e  Navy  is  not  out  ot  jiroportion  to  its  defeiisi\e 
and  politiial  rei juir«-mcnt-,  but  it  is  nut  «>t  propornon 
to  tin  re  ouri  es  of  the  country.  No  doubt  eon-iderah!e 

ei  oliomies     could      be     ette<;ed      b\      the      pla<in,;     ol      more 

i  on- 1  ru«  t  ion    orders    .iliro  id.    but     this    would    con\'ers(-l\- 
i  (  a<  t    on    the    shipbuilding    abilities    o!    the    home    yards, 
whi'h    miv.ht    re-ult    di-a>trou-ly    in    a    moment    ot    i  ri-is 
In   the   j)fesent    war   :h  •    (apai.e  e   Na\  •.    until   late!'.    p!a\ed 
but   an   UK  on   id-  i  a'  >!e  pa  ; !  .     Japan's  pai  1 1«  ipat  io;i  <  a  me  too 

late    to    ple\ent    the    CM  ape    ot     the    (iellllaU    ('Ililia    -qiiadr«'!| 
from    'lsin:'!aU,    and    uas    Iinnt-d    to    the   Slian'ui:/    opeia- 
tion-,   to    the  o  i-upa'.ion   oi    the   ('aroiines.  a::d    to   |.i't<>l 
liir^'     the     tiade     routes.        I;     is    (Uiious,    but     \\oiih\     (•! 

note     b\       !  l]o>c      in' i   f  '    ted  .      till'       the      Il.l\  a  1      (   Xp.ltl     'Oil      \\  .  I 

prim  ipalh   din-'  ted   low  ai<i>  the  <  real  ion  ol   a  \  ei  \    - 1 1 1  mi; 

!  .at  t  le  i  jliadi  -  >n.  and  not,  a  ,  ni!  lit  h  i\  e  In  en  i  \p--i  ti-d. 
to  the  buildltc'  ot  la  1  lii'ht  «  nii^-i  -,  a  l.i'  t  •••iieialK 


F1NANCK,    INDUSTRY,    AND    COMMKRCK     199 

Turning  from  expenditure  to  tin-  National  Debt,  it  will 
be  seen  that  in  the  same  period  the  funded  debt  ha-, 
risen  from  Y  530,  i  So,S  i  i  (19031  to  Y  2,  545,070,505 
(  i  <;  i  4  ),  or  nearly  live  times.  For  this  increase  the  war 
was  greatly  responsible.  An  analysis  of  the  objects  of 
the  borrowing  gives  the  following  result  :— 

Yen 

Rcorgruii/ation  of  I'uhlic  Institutions     .^,<x;i,Si_j 

Kconomic  t'ndri  t.ikini^s    533>2^5'4'9 

Milit.irv  Alt. ins     !S  1 7,03!  j.ooo 

I 'on  si  ilul.it  i  i':i  cif  (  Hi!  I  ,•  i.ms 1,1  jf  1. 1^17, 3  23 

Moiliipulv .}..vi  '  .V'O, 

O'lom.il  Kxpl. 'it.iti.ni 6.  i, 3*5,050 


I  ntortunately  tlie  above  figures,  though,  and  perhaps 
because,  taken  from  the  (  M'ticial  Report,  do  not  convey 
a  correct  classification  of  the  National  Debt.  The  phrase 
'  financial  adjustment  '  or  '  consolidation  of  old  loans  ' 
is  an  excellent  method  of  concealing  the  baneful  influence 
of  militarism,  and  prevents  any  adequate  conception 
of  the  charge  which  the  war  has  laid  on  the  country. 
For  example,  the  4  per  cent.  Sterling  loan  of  second 
and  third  i-stie  1905  and  1910,  the  5  per  cent.  Sterling 
loan  of  1907,  the  4  per  cent.  Paris  loan  of  1910, 
the  4  per  cent,  loan  of  1910  (first  and  second  scries), 
were  all  in  reality  war  loans,  whilst  the  Exchequer  Bonds 
of  1913  were  issued  in  connection  with  the  railway 
development.  Financial  adjustment  should  only  be  a 
second  title  for  this  immense  total,  eleven-twelfths  of 
which  was  directly  borrowed  to  cover  the  costs  of  the  war. 

The-  Japanese  have  a  most  unfortunate  penchant  for 
avoiding  displeasing  facts  and  an  equal  taste  for  window- 
dressing.  Saving  '  face  '  is  iu-t  as  much  a  characteristic 
of  the  country  as  it  is  of  China.  Whilst  it  may  bo 
technically  correct  to  place  the-  thousand  odd  million 
yen  mentioned  above  to  financial  adjustment,  such  an 
explanation  by  no  means  tells  the  whole  truth,  and  to 
debit  the  war  and  military  and  naval  expansion  with 


200  JAl'AN    AT    THK    CROSS    ROADS 

only  YX  i  7,000,000  is  tin-  concealment  of  a  material 
fact.  This  attitude  towards  linancial  matter^  is  by  no 
means  un<  ommon.  and  of  the  many  attempts  at  tinker- 
ing up  the  situation  which  have-  been  witnessed  since 
looj*  only  one  made  any  pretence  at  a  true  reali/ation 
and  at  a  fundamental  solution  ot  the  dilliculties. 

It  is  witli  the  second  Katsura  Ministry  that  the  genuine 
maladministration  began.  Katsura  himself  took  i harge 
i'l  the  Department  of  Finam  e,  a  [Million  for  wln<  h  In- 
had  no  training  and  little  ability.  lie  uas  faced  with 
problem-,  wliii  h  an  expert  ei  ononnst  would  have  found 
ditrii  ulty  in  sohmg.  lie  had  to  restore  general  financial 
credit  in  Japan,  for  this  had  been  rudely  shaken  by 
the  di-closuic  oi  serious  trouble  in  -oine  ot  the  leading 
institutions.  Me  had  to  re-tore  Japanese  <  redit  abroad, 
whh  h  was  weighed  down  by  the  hea\  y  burden  of  debt 
and  by  the  steady  rise  in  expenditure.  In  addition  In- 
had  to  inert  demand-.  Iroin  all  (juarters  for  funds  for 
prodii' -live  and  military  purposes,  and  to  answer  the 
•  lamour  of  the  people  lor  a  redu<  lion  in  taxation.  That 
Kat-ura  made  serious  mistakes  i  animt  be  denied,  but 
there  can  })••  no  doubt  that  he  tackled  the  situation 
with  reikle-s  courage  and  de<  i^ion.  and  the  manner  m 
uhi'h  he  (allied  In-,  \anous  <on\er-ion  -cheine-,  \\a- 
<  le\  i-r  and  ei  onomical.  1  i  ln>  device  ot  maintaining  the 
4  per  i  cuts,  at  a  lictiiimis  level  was  a  mistake,  n  was 
one  for  \shi  h  the  underwriters  weie  a>  mu>  h  ie-p<>n-ible 
a-  he  V..IN,  and  It  1-  one  uhlih  has  sini  e  been  <  opied 
in  other  i  •  »unt rie>. ' 

'  '[..•  !••,.!!  I'n  (.''-lil.  I'.  :M!-  \Vcir  l--i:ni  \><  .1  l>.mi.c!'-  ^VH1  li.  .i!c, 
'  «-:i-i-;:nL'  't  t:.f  Spcv.  :r,  liidr.~iii.il.  ll\p  iiirt,  M:i-'ii.  Mitsi:  !'.!•>!. i. 
l-.r  '.  I'iatil,  I1  :!!'  i'Hl  ii,  1 1  H:II  !u-'  i:!i.  Y  .1  mil.  Si:nn!<  >:m  i.  K<  in  .iJ.r. 
V.tut.i^i-<.  -ii.  N.t:i:u.i,  I  ::i:  I  y  I::  - '.  .i:.i !  Kii  .c  ..uii.i  I  l.in).  •.  1  IK  I-.MH  pi  u  c 
W.i-.  i;  '  .1:1  1  !  I  .1  i  i  'll\  r:it '."ii.ll  jn  !  ;  •  ,i  I  !  in:  l..ii;i»N  lilidfl  d  '.  -k  l.i  •!  \<~ 
ill  ;  '-I  '.':.•.:  ;.')!•  l;i:t>  mi'iii  tii.tt  li^nii-.  1  :.c  -Ninii,  .itr  \\.i 

< !  1  -    , .  i '.  • ' .  1     .  i !      !  . . '       i   : : '  1     <  '  I       t    . .  •     c '  > :  1  \  r  r  1 1 1 1  >  1 1 . 1 1      p  i  !  ; ,  . ,  1 ,      M  .  1 1  ,  I '  j  I  .' .     .  i  - 

M:       V. en  .in  .f.     ri'/iidi-'l     it.     >  ..n';n  ;  i'i   ,;,     .,  .    mi' It  •  i!  .iMr.        |.\     t;,.it 
1 1:;;--   tin-    in. i.  ...  :    .  ill.  i-  i.l    ;!.<•  I.,  ,'nl  •    h  i'  1   .is .  ,ppi-«|    i-.   -•/  i   i  u  t.  : 

\^  .;,  •'   si-  .ii1'   1   •!•    i  -!•,•.  ;\-   !<>t    !':i     <•  ct    tin-   |..iiil.-     i     :    .     I  n.r.i-t!  :.il 
.ir.'l     Kit  ,!i.i::i.i     -A..,    .      i.i  1    >     uliiiU'.l     !.)    v.ilu.-    i    t-ii     ;i    li;n.       .il    t:.c 


FINANCE,    INDUSTRY,    AND   COMMERCE     201 

When  he  embarked  on  the  reformation  of  Japanese 
finance  in  i<;oS  he  had  to  lind,  according  to  uuthorixcd 
programmes— 

Yi  10, (xx>, <KM>  pi-r  iiiminn  for  National  Ik'ht  cliarjji's 
Y  i  Mo. o<>o,o<«>  MI  tliiitrrn  \i-.n-.  tOi  tin-  Aniiy 
Y  }^o,ooo.ooo  ,,  ,,  Navy 

Y  }io,(xx>,ix>o  ,,  ,,  I'nxliiclivc  purposes 

Y.j.jo,o(x>,tHX)  ,,  ,,  K.iilw.ivs 

and     Y.1 1,  v^'.oyi  P*-'1  anninii  for  interest  on  K.iilway  I'onds 

besides  the  funds  for  the  various  Departments  of 
State  and  for  the  normal  development  of  the  country. 
Further,  he  had  to  do  this  without  borrowing  any  more 
money,  for  he  issued  a  self-denying  ordinance  to  that 
eltect  as  soon  as  he  took  oitice.  It  \vas  quite  impossible 
tor  him  to  achieve  his  object,  the  more  so  as  he  volun- 
tarily added  to  his  own  burdens  and  submitted  to  the 
imposition  of  further  burdens  laid  on  the  Treasury  by 
the  Army  and  Navy. 

lie  issued  a  statement  that  lie  not  only  would  not 
indulge  in  further  borrowing  except  for  loan  conversion, 
but  pledged  himself  to  pay  off  Y  50,000,000  of  debt 
per  annum.  lie  authorized  a  further  naval  programme 
ol  Y<So, 000,000  spread  over  six  years,  a  riparian  im- 
provement scheme  of  Y<), 000,000  per  annum  for 
twenty  years  and  Y  10,000,000  per  annum  for  ten 
years  tor  Korean  railways,  roads,  and  harbours,  plus 
a  Y  i  2,000,000  annual  L;ram  to  Korea.  (This  followed 
the  annexation  ot  Korea  in  1910,  and  has  since  been 
reduced  to  Y<;, 000,000. ) 

In  considering  the  country's  financial  position  too 
much  attention  is  paid  abroad  to  the  verbosity  of  the 
Japanese"  financial  agents  in  London  and  New  York 
and  that  of  their  chiefs  in  Tokyo.  Such  promises  as 
Katsiira's,  not  to  borrow  but  to  redeem  all  bonds  in 
thirty  years,  ou;.;ht  not  to  be  taken  into  serious  con- 
sideration at  all.  fhe\'  are  merely  the  bright  hopes 
ot  optimists,  and  most  Japanese  are  incurable  optimists 
when  thev  have  foreign  listeners.  These  -littennu  and 


202  JAPAN    AT    THK    CROSS    ROADS 

attractive  utterances  are  merely  delusions  for  the  unwary, 
as  the  following  incident  show-. 

\\'hen  the  Japanese  '  hooni  '  campaign]  was  on  in 
London  during  the  Russo-Japanese  \\'ar,  Mr.  Arakawa, 
tin-  Japanese  C'on-ul-t  ieneral,  issued  a  statement  that 
;_;old -fields  had  !><en  discovered  at  Iwate,  one-fourth  of 
uhi'h  had  been  examined  by  I)r.  \\"atanahe,  the  Ihnne 
(Mine  expert,  who  hail  estimated  the  ore  on  that  section 
at  C  i  00,000,000.  "  If  the  remaining  three-fourths  of 
the  ^oldfield."  v;iid  Mr.  Ar.ikawa,  "are,  after  exannna- 
tion,  foiinil  to  he  similarly  prolitic  in  ore,  I)r.  \Vatanabe 
estimates  that  the  Japanese  treasury  will  he  enriched  to 
tin-  extent  of  11400,000,000."  It  was  a  beautiful  dream. 
1  he  ^old-mine  was  worth  just  about  C.  ^oo.ooo.  monev 
•unk  in  it  by  the  -fini  otin  lal  Industrial  Hank  under 
the  order-  <if  Vi-- mint  Smie.  Minister  ot  Finance,  ami 
the  i'remicr.  Marquis  Katsura.  l)r.  \Vatanabe  had  made 
the  report  (jiioted  by  Mr.  Arakawa  '.:nd<  r  the  untun 
in -;  nil  t  ii  Mis  of  Sone  and  Ka'-ur.i,  and  wh<-n.  in  I  o  i  o. 
he  uas  ait.u  ked  in  the  pn-s.  by  the  shareholders  of  the 
bank  he  published  the  inst  nn  t  ions.  'I  he  bank  lost  every 
\tn  ii  had  put  in  the  mine,  an  1  was  only  saved  from 
iKjuidatinii  ounu;  to  thi-  and  oilier  '  looh.slmes-,  '  b\- 
a  lo.in  arran  ;ed  by  the  (  iovrnment  in  l<)l  >. 

It     i-     (jin'e    (  le.ir     t  )    any    one     \\]\t\    tries     to     study 

|apane-e      filiaine      that      he      \\lil      lle\cr      be     able     to      j.;ct 

ML',  lit  lo  the  boUom  of  things.  'llu-re  LS  too  nnu  h 
lU..;^  hn.1, ,  l\iii;.;,  and  o[  it  im  1-111.  It  is  on  I;  p<i--i'ile  to 
i  on -ider  poinjs  \s  hi.  h  .  .i:,:.ot  be  ( mil  t-a'ed  an  1  to  di aw 
i  "ii<  lu-ion-.  a-  to  the  renia :ni ler . 

1  he      Spei    ]••       R.      (   r\  e      Is      the     i    loud      \\lll<   ll      lo.illl-      O\CI' 

th'-  \\hnle  -itua'Min,  and  ::i'  id-  n'all\  :  i\  es  si  ope  for 
iH'ire  <  !<••,(  r  manipulation  than  all  the  ie-t  of  the  a.  >  mints 
p;;'  to.  ether  I';i;;i.'.  tlr  \\at  |ap..n  boirov.  ed  a  lot 
ill  mone\  abtoad,  and  i;  ua-  arranged  th.r,  -;:  h  <a-li 
h'  'ii!d  be  i.,  ;  •  IM  1 .« i;id<  m  t"  s.  r\e  as  a  fund  Im  the 
pa\ni'iit  •>!  ncimtioii'  and  ^ippii-  -  and  th"  int<i>-st  mi 
:he  IMP  i,  ii  <i  lit  I  i,  •  a  I  i  an..;  e  me  nt  \\a  ui.d'iiibledls 

.L       Ullable     one          h      '.'.a.     hand',      to!      [apaii     to     hold     the 


FINANCK,    INDUSTRY,    AND   COMMKRCK     203 

money  there,  and  it  was  comforting  for  the  investors 
to  know  that  it  was  there.  Until  I  <;  I  2  the  amount  of 
the  Specie  Reserve  was  kept  strictly  secret,  and  then- 
is  still  a  halo  of  mystery  around  it,  for  no  regular 

statement  is  issued,  and  the  hare  total  is  all  the  infor- 
mation which  can  he  extracted  from  the  government  by 
interpellations  in  the  Diet.  Part  of  this  reserve,  generally 
from  one-halt  to  two-thirds,  belongs,  however,  to  the  Hank 
of  Japan,  and  forms  a  portion  of  the  gold  stock  held 
against  the  issue  of  currency  notes.  The  government 
share  fluctuates  from  ci;;ht  to  twenty  millions  sterling, 
and,  except  for  constant  replenishment  by  the  proceeds 
of  new  loans,  would  have  vanished  into  nothingness  within 
two  or  three  years  ot  its  formation. 

That  part  of  the  reserve  which  is  kept  in  London 
is  a  striking  example  of  the  manner  in  which  the  finances 
are  conducted.  It  was  originally  created  Irom  the  un- 
expended portions  of  the  war  loans,  and  u-e  of  capital 
to  pay  interest  which  would  not  appeal  to  a  financial 
purist,  and  a  clear  indication  that  the  Japanese  (iovern- 
nient  at  thai  time  did  not  expect  revenue  to  expand  at 
a  rate  sufficient  to  cover  the  charges  on  the  debt. 

In  addition  to  the  payment  of  interest  and  redemption, 
tlii-  reserve  is  also  u-ed  by  the  Financial  Commissioner 
to  maintain  Japanese  credit  in  Furope.  For  this  purpose 
he  goes  into  the  market  and  buys  Japanese  bonds.  That 
is  to  say,  that  the  Japanese  Government  invests  its  reserve 
in  its  own  paper  a  tad  which  very  materially  alters 
the  status  of  the  reserve,  making  it  a  paper  instead  of 
a  gold  one.  I  am  aware  that  this  suggestion  has  been 
made  before  and  repudiated  by  the  authorities,  but  its 
truth  cannot  be  denied  in  view  of  Harori  Takahashi's 
\ery  definite  statement  in  the-  Die:  on  the  subject.  lie 
admitted  that  when  Japanes"  Financial  .Age.it  in  London, 
he  was  authori/ed  to  imest  up  to  \  '( .0.000.000  per  annum 
in  Japanese  bonds,  th.it  this  policy  was  -till  being  pursued, 
though  tlu4  amount  available  had  been  reduced  to 
\ "40.000.000  per  annum.  1  believe  the  present  go\  em- 
inent, in  view  of  the  diminution  ot  the  reserve,  hail  onlv 


204  JAPAN    AT    THK    CROSS    ROADS 

authori/cd  Y  20, 000,000  bcin^  thus  employed.  In  any 
case  the  practice  is  clear  and  materially  alieets  the  basis 
of  Marquis  Inouye's  figure--.  That  it  can  involve  the 
authorities  in  serious  difficulties  was  shown  in  March, 
1913,  when  the  Specie  Reserve  was  so  low  and  locked 
up  that  there  was  insufficient  to  pay  a  miserable  V,  700.000 
(<•  1'aris  to  redeem  a  parcel  of  5  per  cent.  Imnds  which 
had  been  drawn  for  redemption.  The  reserve  has  been 
maintained  by  a  continuation  of  the-  borrowing  policy, 
which  Katsura  nominally  eschewed.  And  even  in  hi- 
self-ilenial  there  was  a  tly  in  the  ointment,  for  when 
foreign  investors  understood  by  it  that  he  intended  not 
to  born>w  lor  any  purj>oses  whatsoever,  he  hedged  by 
excluding  the  railways  from  the  scope  of  the  ordinance, 
although  e\'en  railway  loans  were  not  to  be  raided  so 
I'lii-  a^  the  jvistal  saving  and  other  funds  in  the  Deposit 
l'>ureatt  were  available.  This  did  not  allect  the  steady 
diminution  of  the  government  share  of  the  Specie  Reserve 
abroad.  Interest  and  redemption  had  to  be  continued, 
and  of  course  the  available  balance  steadily  fell,  lor 
no  replenishment  was  possible  l>v  shipping  ,^(|ld  from 
J.ipan,  when-  revenue  only  met  expenditure  by  a  course 
ol  hi^h  financing.  I  he  South  Manchurian  K  nlw.iy  loan 
in  all  piobabiiity  went  into  the  London  re>i-rve.  The 
Industrial  Hank  issue  of  i  <>o.S  certainK  did.  and  in  this 
tian-aition  a  douiile  blult  \\MS  playd.  for  not  only  ua> 

the   monev    plai  ed    111    til-'    IC-ClVe   alld    Ijote-    l-si|ed    li!     |'ok\o. 

but  as  the  London  l'ie-s  pointed  out  the  MJ.OOO.OOU 
•tellin  had  been  iiono\\ed  tui<e  o\er  tor  the 


nt    ol    bo i 
Muni'  i; 
(  'i , 

n    i\     ffl 
A   loan   u  a 

lot         \      S  '   I     I     '    M   )     O  .    )      .  Ml 


FINANCK,    INDUSTRY,    AND    COMMKRCK     205 

London,  which  had  fallen  to  Yi  10,000.000.  The  money 
raised  was  retained  in  London,  and  notes  to  the  amount 
weir  issued  in  Japan.  As  I  lie  i'.conomi^t  pointed  out 
in  a  very  serious  criticism,  such  action  madi*  the  sink- 
ing fund  '  a  sham  and  something  worse.'  This  last 
transaction  was  the  final  coup  of  Katsura  finance.  After 
the  authorization  of  the  purchase  he  resigned,  though 
leaving  to  his  successor  the  ta^k  of  completing  a  very 
unsatisfactory  business.  This  was  typically  Katsuresque. 
As  in  1006,  he  laid  on  Saionji  the  burden  and  the 
odium  of  the  railway  nationalization,  so  in  1911  he  laid 
on  him  the  task  of  depreciating  the  currency.  Mr. 
Yamamoto,  his  successor  at  the  ()kiira-*ho,  was  strongly 
opposed  to  the  whole  scheme,  but  had  to  carry  it  through, 
though  he  refused  all  responsibility  for  its  initiation. 

When  Katsura  resigned  office  in  1911,  it  would  not 
have  taken  very  much  to  precipitate  a  financial  crisis 
of  the  very  first  quality.  That  it  was  not  precipitated 
was  due  to  the  wisdom  of  Marquis  Saionji  in  appointing 
Mr.  Yamamoto  as  Minister  of  Finance,  and  in  giving  him 
every  support,  a  course  in  which  he  was  heartily  backed 
by  Marquis  Inotiye  and  the  bankers  of  Tokyo,  led  by 
Baron  Shibusawa. 

UJnconnccted  with  any  political  party  and  almost  un- 
acquainted with  the  manojuvrc^  and  intrigues  of  Japanese 
politics,  Yamamolo  Tatsuo  was  the  right  man  to  handle 
the  financial  situation. 

Horn  of  lowly  parentage  in  Bungo  province  in  1^50, 
he  worked  as  an  usher  in  a  primary  school  at  Osaka  in 
order  to  obtain  the  funds  wherewith  to  educate  himself. 
With  his  savings  he  went  to  Tokyo  and  entered  the 
Keio  University,  but  his  poverty  was  such  that  he  was 
unable  to  complete  the  curriculum.  Fortunately  lie  came 
under  the  notice  of  Mr.  Shoda  Ileigoro,  manager  of  the 
Mitsu  Bishi  Company,  and  on  his  nomination  entered  the 
Commercial  School  founded  by  the  firm.  From  bring 
teacher  he  eventually  became  head  master,  a  post  which 
was  only  vacated  to  become  first  Director  ot  the  <  >kayama 
Commercial  School,  and  then  Director  of  the  Osaka 


206  JAPAN    AT    THK    (ROSS    ROADS 

School.  Like-  .til  adherent-,  ol  Fukuzawa,  lit-  was  an 
enthusiastic  j»oJitician  in  his  youth,  and  of  course  a  demo- 
crat,  but  on  leaving  Keio  he  i;ave  up  all  interest  in 
|x>litics.  Rejoining  tin-  Mitsii  liishi,  Yamamoto  first 
entered  the  Yokohama  branch  of  the  firm,  but  was  soon 
transferred  to  Tokyo  as  sub-manager,  where  he  remained 
until,  in  iSou,  he  was  ap{x>inted  private  secretary  to 
Baron  Kawada.  President  of  the  Hank  of  Japan.  His 
knowledge  of  finance  was  such  that  he  became  Director 
of  the  Business  Department,  and  under  the  late  Baron 
Iwasaki  was  th  •  yonin,  who  really  managed  the  -whole 
concern.  In  iXoX  he  became  in  hi>  turn  President  ot 
the  Bank,  from  which  jx>st  he  retired  0:1  the  accession 
ut  the  Katsura  Cabinet  ri  i<;oi.  During  his  tenure  of 
office  lie  had  some  rare  lights  with  a  clique  of  the 
Directors,  but  sure  ot  his  arguments,  and  backed  by 
public  opinion,  he  \u>n  through  on  each  occasion.  His 
next  appointment  was  as  President  of  the  Hypothec  Bank, 
uhere  he  placed  to  his  credit  a  complete  reor^ani/ation 
ot  the  management  and  a  considerable  increase  in  capital, 
turnover,  and  profits. 

The  apj>oiiitnient  of  Mr.  \"amamoto  wa>  the  most  darin:; 
experiment  that  lias  b»-en  tried  of  ic  ent  \ears  in  Japan. 
Io  take  a  man  unconnected  uith  bureauciMcy  or  politics 
and  hand  him  the  mo>t  <  iitical  of  all  the  poiifolios.  \\ith 
ciirtt'  lilancfii1  to  <!o  \\hat  he  lik'-il,  V.MS  an  extraordinary 
a<  ;  of  courage  and  wi-dom.  I  do  i;oi  think  that  anybody 

exp-'i'ted     that     the     lieu      Mi.'M    tcl      \\ould     be     able     to     (MIIV 

through  the  pro^raintiic  \\|IK!I  lie  laid  d'>wn.  I  am 
i  eiJain  lie  did  not  hlin-elt  c\p«  i  I  to  snored,  (><\  In- 
had  a;;a!i)-t  him  th--  -Ian  inlhi'-nce,  u!ii<!i  <  ould  not 
endure  tor  a  moin<-:it  ill.-  diversion  ot  hinds  trom  the 
-hips  and  .^tin^  to  ca  e  the  iind'-n  ol  taxation.  \\'M;IIIV; 
to  London  on  De.  ember  ;,  \  '  >  i  i ,  I  aid  :  "  \'.imamoto's 
e.\ie!!enl  and  j-op'iiai.  and  it  he  <,m  cair\ 
-houJd  in  a  t'".\  ye.u  -  jc.it  tin-  country  on 
ou:id  ba  i-.  I-'ioin  uliat  I  leain,  howevei, 

••     alloU'cd      Io     r  .it'M       It      oill     '  Ilia!      plo\c-c| 

tine    pi  ophi  ••  \-.       I' 


KINANCK,    INDUSTRY,    AND    (  OMMKKCK     207 

was  unsuccessful,  the  muntry  owe-,  linn  thanks  for  the 
fearless  manner  in  which  he  grasped  the  situation,  and 
for  having  had  the  wisdom  to  take  the  public  into  his 
confidence  and  teach  it  the  true  condition  of  alfairs. 

His  first  step  was  to  issue  a  very  serious  warning  to 
the  nation  that  unless  drastic  remedies  were  taken  the 
country  would  go  bankrupt.  In  thi>  view  he  had  behind 
him  the  Premier,  Marquis  Saionji,  and  the  three  financial 
veterans,  Marquises  Inouye  and  Matsukata  and  Baron 
Shibusawa.  Yamamoto  held  the  opinion  that  a  country's 
finances  should  be  managed  like  those  of  a  business  or 
a  bank.  Accordingly  he  wanted  to  cut  down  expendi- 
ture to  meet  revenue,  to  charge  the  National  Debt  service 
against  income,  and  to  develop  manufacturers  and  com- 
merce* so  that  the  annual  drain  of  gold  should  be  replaced 
by  steadily  increasing  exports.  All  continuing  expendi- 
tures were  to  be  reduced  to  the  limits  of  the  revenue. 
This  programme  may  not  seem  to  be  very  different  from 
the  views  enunciated  by  Katsura  when  he  had  assumed 
office  in  1908.  The  difference  lay  in  the  author.  Katsura 
made  promises,  but  had  no  intention  of  keeping  them, 
if  they  were  difficult  to  keep.  Yamamoto  laid  his  course, 
and  was  determined  not  to  swerve  from  it,  even  at  the 
cost  of  his  post.  Saionji  was  equally  steadfast,  and 
intended  to  risk  his  Cabinet  rather  than  give  in.  The 
first  fight  came  with  the  Army,  and  the  proposals  for 
the  two  new  divisions  were  rejected.  Ishimoto,  under 
orders  which  originally  emanated  from  the  Meiji  Tenno, 
withdrew  his  demands.  The  next  on  the  list  was  the 
Navy,  who  put  in  a  demand  lor  yet  another  programme 
totalling  Y_35o. 000,000,'  which  Damn  Saito  absolutely 

'   At  the  time  the  Y_^o,ooo,ooo   scheme  \vas  proposed  Japan  already 
li.id  four  other  programmes  under  execution. 

The  following  are  the  programmes  now  under  construction  : — 
(i)    Xo.  }.      100^  Yoo.oovi.ooo  terminating  in   n>i^ 
(2}  Xo.  4.      1904  Yi  2^,000,000         ,,  ,,     1914 

(3)  Xo.  5.     1907  Y76,ooo,ooo  ,,  ,,     1015 

(4)  Xo.  6.      KJIO  YXo.ooo.oix)  ,,  ,,      101^ 

(5)  Xo.  7.      i<)i  2  Yoo,o»o,ooo  ,.  ,,      loin 
(o)  Xo.  8.     1914  Y35o,ooo,ooo         ,,  ,,     K»JO 


2oS  JAPAN    AT    TIN'.    CROSS    ROADS 

iefu-ed  t«i  withdraw  or  redu<v.  It  t  ame  ti»  .1  <  lean 
fight  between  th''  \.i\y  and  the  I'reasury.  Saito  said 
he  must  have  the  money,  as  it  was  vital  t<i  the  defence 
<>t  the  (otintry.  Yamamoto  replied  tliat  he  fully  appre- 
ciated the  argument,  hut  there  was  no  money.  Saito 
went  out  to  -M'ek  dan  support,  and  Vamamoto  gave  him 
forty-right  hours  to  hring  in  new  estimates.  Finally 
Yamamoto  gave  him  Y2,  ;oo  ooo.  hut  only  money  win.  h 
Saito  had  sa\ed  out  of  the  ordinary  Naval  F-timates, 
as  an  instalment  of  Y<;o, 000,000  spread  over  se\  en  year-.. 
It  was  a  hig  victory,  and  it  mad'1  the  Finance  Minister 
very  jxtpular.  The  final  de<  1-1011  was  come  to  at  a 
< 'abmet  held  late  .it  night,  and  was  at  once  announced 
.ind  cabled  away.  Till  an  early  hour  there  were  callers  at 
the  ofli'-ial  residence  to  oiler  congratulations,  and  tele- 
grams and  letters  arrived  next  day  in  shoals.  Other 
economies  followed.  Th-1  government  grant  to  the  Meiji 
Kxhihition,  tli--  co:; strut  t;on  <>f  the  new  I'arii.iment  1  louse, 
the  improvement  of  harbours  a'id  extension  of  telephones 
were  all  abandoned  or  largely  curtailed.  <  >ut  of 
Y.}  ;.ooo.O' )O  Yamamoto,  now  in  fact  the  autocrat  of 
ih'-  money-ba^-,  allowed  only  \"^. 400,000,  \\hiih  all 
went  for  pK ) due; iv<-  and  educational  purj»o-es. 

Thi-  ljudg<-t.  \\lii'  h  \\MS  drawn  up  and  presented  to 
the  I)id,  showed  a  ba!a;i!  e  of  Y  5  7  }. v' J  }.';7o,  being  an 
UK  rea-'-  of  \  v'/;X.oXo.  laxes  -hdwed  a  decrease  of 
\\,\  vj.  i  •'•>';.  but  Stamp-  and  ( !o\ i-rnmeiit  I'.u-me^-  an 
IIP  ira  i-  ol  S' 5,000.0  o  If  the  Mudget  did  not  appear 
to  do  niU'h  to  tu'nl  th'1  pro- ;i  aninie  laid  do\\n  b\  the 
Mini-ter,  it  at  lea-t  did  no;  lontravetie  any  of  the  niI'-«, 
he  ha  1  made.  In  addr.ion  it  was  well  undeistd-.d  that 
.i  r.ud.;et  (anno;  be  dia\'.n  up  ;n  a  I  <  w  weeks,  and 
lli.ii  tin-  oil'1  wa>  in  la'i  merely  a  Ncnia!  allaii  foi 
parliamentary  pur,-)  e>,  and  had  b-:i  iifje  relation  wi;h 
:!i--  ul'imat"  interrinn  •.(  :h"  '  io\  <•]  \ .m-  :it  I  he  I'lemier 
and  Mr.  Naintiiio'd  re  n.-rn/e,!  ;!,.it  no  pii>j.--i  refirjin 

'    O'lld       be       ft!,-,    1    -d       1C.        ni'-I.-lv       le.|,  [.in-  '  II.    Uie 


FINANCE,    INDUSTRY,   AND   COMMERCE     209 

mission  was  accordingly  appointed,  which  after  six  months 
published  in  June,  1912,  a  rejxjrt,  which  was  immediately 
translated  into  law,  and  went  into  force  from  the  elate  of 
promulgation.  By  it  a  reorganization  of  offices,  economies 
in  working,  adjustment  of  revenue,  and  postponement 
of  continuing  works  took  place,  resulting  in  the  dismissal 
of  27,000  officials  and  employe's,  and  in  a  total  annual 
saving  of  ¥70,373, 433.  As  affecting  the  1912-13 
Budget,  as  the  new  scheme  was  put  to  work  at  once  a 
saving  of  ¥66,144,430  was  made. 

In  another  chapter  I  have  given  the  causes  of  the 
fall  of  the  Saionji  Ministry,  and  with  it  failed  the  only 
honest  attempt  made  since  the  war  to  grapple  with  Japan's 
financial  problem.  It  is  more  than  a  thousand  pities 
that  Mr.  Yamamoto  was  not  continued  at  the  Okura-sho 
by  Count  Yamamoto.  His  next  step  after  the  curtailment 
of  expenditure  was  to  have  been  a  revision  of  the  tax 
system,  and  it  would  have  been  interesting  to  see  how 
he  would  have  accomplished  it. 

His  successor,  Mr.  Wiakatsuki,  is  a  bureaucrat  bred 
in  the  atmosphere  of  the  department,  of  which  he  is  now 
for  the  second  time  the  head.  His  first  tenure  of  office 
only  lasted  a  few  weeks  owing  to  the  collapse  of  tin- 
third  Katsura  Ministry.  He  has  no  great  reputation  a-> 
an  economist,  but  has  had  considerable  experience  ot 
official  finance  as  Commissioner  in  London  and  as  Yice- 
Minister.  If  he  gets  staunch  backing  from  his  chief's 
he  may  be  able  to  fulfil  his  promises  to  reduce  expendi- 
ture, but  generally  he  is  regarded  as  being  too  much 
under  the  thumb  of  the  militarists,  whose  excellent  servant 
he  was  during  Katsura's  second  Ministry,  and  so  may 
not  now  be  able  to  resist  their  importunities. 

Baron  Takahashi,  who  was  Minister  of  Finance  under 
the  Yamamoto  Ministry,  was  the  very  antithesis  of  Mr. 
Yamamoto.  A  big,  hale  and  hearty  figure,  he  has  the 
appearance  of  a  prosperous  stockbroker  rather  than  that 
of  the  custodian  of  a  nation's  wealth.  He  is  lavish  in 
hospitality  and  in  promises,  a  habit  he  is  reported  to 
have  acquired  when  Financial  Commissioner  in  London. 


210  JAPAN    AT   TIIK   CROSS    ROADS 

His  usual  remedy  for  a  lack  of  revenue  is  a  loan. 
His  policy  in  this  respect  was  to  raise  money  by  Railway 
Notes  and  Exchequer  Hills,  and  by  l*)rrowing  from  the 
Special  Accounts  and  Deposit  Himau.  The  former  he 
then  converted  into  foreign  loans,  long  or  short  term, 
and  used  the  proi  eeds  to  bank  up  the  reserve  against 
an  issue  of  notes  to  refund  the  latter.  lie  reduced  the 
maximum  issue  of  Treasury  Hills  by  V 50, 000,000  so 
as  to  keep  the  note  issue  somewhere  near  relation  to  the 
Specie  Reserve. 

From  the  investors'  point  of  view  it  was  a  good  thing 
that  tin*  Vamamoto  Cabinet  fell,  for  if  this  jx)licy  had 
been  {xi-rsisted  in,  a  very  considerable  addition  to  the 
foreign  debt  would  have  been  incurred.  To  a  certain 
extent  the  jxjlicy  of  converting  the  floating  debt  into  a 
funded  debt  is  a  sound  one,  especially  in  Japan,  where, 
matters  had  got  to  such  a  [>oint  that  the  country  was  living 
on  paper.  Hut  to  the  foreign  investor  it  was  most 
undesirable  to  have  the  foreign  debt  increased  by  the 
( oriversion  of  these  Railway  Notes  and  Hills,  only  to 
have  the  floating  debt  again  run  up  to  its  original  amount 
In  addition  the  foreign  loans  cost  a  great  deal  more  than 
the  internal  paper.  The  Hank  of  Japan  will  di-count 
government  paper  at  from  2l,  to  4  per  cent.,  but  foreign 
loans,  as  raided  by  Haron  Takaha>hi  in  I  <y  i  },  cost  from 
I  2  to  14  per  rent. 

Haron  Takaha^hi's  ideas  on  loans  may  be  gathered 
from  the  following  criticism  by  Haron  Megata,  formerly 
J- main  ial  Adviser  to  the  Korean  ( io\ crnmeiit.  and  one 
of  the  mo^t  a-tute  linaix  ial  experts  in  Japan,  lie  s.nd  : 

The  lloii-e  of  I'eers  ha-,  been  obliged  to  ^wallow 
the  Hudget  for  I  i;  I  }  -  I  .}  oumg  to  the  aition  of  the 
(  .»\  eminent,  uithotit  making  any  amendments,  but  1  .1111 
very  mui  h  <on<erned  about  tin-,  ^tate  of  things  ,t^  \\ell 
a-,  aixiut  the  future  oj  the  I-lmpir<v  The  lo'.il  .uuoiint 
nf  Hond-  to  I)--  i-Miei|  for  the  Sjx-<  i.il  At  >  ou[it»,  not 
ID:  til*-  N.itiori.il  liud.'/'t  i>  Y  I  .So,  $  ^<;.  5  >J"  •  p.ut  of  \\ln.h 
h.i-.  .i!rc.i'l\  b'-en  l^^il''di.  pill-  i'.\i  lletjllel  IlliL  to  tin- 
lot. il  of  \  ;  ( ).» x » ) ,o< xi.  making  a  graiul  tot.il  of 


FINANCE,   INDUSTRY,   AND   COMMERCE     211 

¥230,000,000.  These  bonds,  according-  to  the  govern- 
ment, must  be  issued  or  renewed  by  the  end  of  the  year. 
Such  a  policy,  when  our  finances  are  already  embarrassed, 
cannot  possibly  strengthen  our  position,  and  it  is  this 
failure  which  is  the  cause  of  our  troubles.  The  following 
is  the  loan  account  :  — 

Yen  Yen 

Railway  Notes  in  London,  due  March  13,   1014 14/144,500 

Railway  Notes  in  London,  due  March  13,  1015  14,* (44, 500 

Railway  Bills,  due  April  14,   i<M3,  of   which   5,000,000 
to    be    redeemed    by  part    proceeds    of     London 

loan     2 5,000,000 

Railway  Hills,  due  June  13,  KM.? 25/300,0x1 

Bonds  authori/ed    1012/13,  to  be  issued  1913/14  5,000,000 

Bonds  authori/ed  for  issue  1913/14 35,103,216 

Total  loans  for  railway  account     -  -  119,392,216 

Korean  Industrial  Bonds  : 

Total  authori/ed  1012/13     24,920,736 

Total  authorized  KM3/I4    12,629,220 

Riparian  Improvement  Account  : 

Balance  authori/ed  1912/13  to  be  issued    i3-75'.5°5 

Total  authori/ed  1913/14  to  be  issued 0,262,^87 

Exchequer  Bills  outstanding 50,000,000 


Y  2  29,976, 567 

"It  must  be  clearly  understood  that  these  loans  are 
not  for  general  financial  purposes,  but  for  the  Special 
Accounts,  and  largely  exceed  the  similar  loans  in  the 
last  Budget,  an  increase  of  close  on  nineteen  millions. 
Judging  by  the  present  state  of  things  our  indebtedness 
will  never  be  reduced,  but  will  go  on  increasing  each 
year.  The  government  has  declared  its  intention  to  raise 
funds  by  drawing  on  the  Deposit  Bureau 'and  by  short- 
term  loans.  Short-term  loans  are  well  enough  if  the 
government  has  abundant  funds  for  redemption  at 
maturity.  If  not  then  the  loans  must  be  renewed  at  very 
disadvantageous  terms,  and  so  the  increase  in  indebted- 
ness is  maintained,  and  eventually  the  short -termers  will 
have  to  be  converted  into  long-term  loans,  in  raising 
which  insuperable  difficulties  will  be  met  unless  the  nation 
is  to  be  placed  at  still  further  disadvantage.  As  for 
the  Deposit  Bureau,  its  funds  are  limited  and  cannot  be 


212  JAPAN    AT   THK   CROSS    ROADS 

expected    to    meet    the   government's    never  -  ending    de- 
mands." ' 

Two  {x>ints  appear  greatly  to  worry  Japanese  econo- 
mists. They  are  the  efflux  of  gold  from  the  country 
and  the  increase  in  the  currency.  In  1911  the  Litter 
was  a  prolific  cause  of  argument,  but  no  decision  was 
come  to  on  the>  matter.  Although  Mr.  Yamamoto  was 
credited  with  a  belief  that  the  volume  of  currency  should 
l>e  decreased  and  Baron  Takahashi  with  a  contrary  view 
the  subject  never  became  a  serious  jxjlitical  issue.  The 
argument  that  currency  depreciates  as  its  total  increases 
is  one  which  lias  not  yet  l>een  satisfactorily  demonstrated. 
In  any  event  the  depreciation  could  not  amount  to  very 
much.  On  the  other  hand  the  jxjint  which  was  avoided 
in  Japan,  but  whirh  was  capable  of  abundant  demonstra- 
tion, is  that  currency  in  excess  of  a  proportionate  relation 
to  reserve  must  ipso  facto  depreciate  in  value.  If  tin- 
issue  of  bank-notes  is  to  lx-  regulated  only  by  tin- 
financial  requirements  of  the  government,  the  purchas- 
ing power  of  notes  cannot  IK-  maintained.  The  Japanese, 
as  might  be  e\[>eeted,  are  note  and  silver  user-,  by 
preference,  which  may  also  have  >orne  influence  on  tin- 
situation,  though  there  is  reason  to  believe  that  the 
authorities  strongly  approve  of  this  altitude  towaids  g<»ld. 
It  is  a  rarity  to  see  gold  in  circulation,  and  it  is  quite 
a  l>u-iness  to  ol)tain  ^old  in  any  ijuantit\.  Anybody  ^lx> 
i^oes  to  a  Japanese  bank  for  the  purpose  of  changing 
paper  into  ^old  will  n-ali/e  the  suspicion  which  such 
an  a<  t  \\ill  produce.  On  one  oc<  a^ion  I  received  iiMruc 
lions  to  pay  1,000  yen  to  a  foreign  tourist,  and  as  he 
wanted  i^old  for  a  portion  of  it  I  had  to  ^o  to 
tin-  Spe<  ie  Bank  to  ^-et  it  mysi-lf,  and  when  there  had 
to  an-wer  a  ii-gular  catechisni  as  to  why  I  wanti-d  ;;oM. 
Mr.  |.  V..  Suttor,  th--  Australian  Cnininerci.il  <'oinmis- 
SIOIMT,  ha^  on  \a!io'i>  o<  <  a^iorii  ilr,»\\n  attention  in  his 
re|«»rt>  to  thi>  hoarding  of  m«-tal,  and  I  l>«-||.\c  inakc^ 
a  juiiiit  nt  :',«-ttin.;  ;:"M  wh«-ni-\cr  h<-  i  an,  tlioii.'h  it  i^ 
note'.vortlp.'  that  tli--  point  ha-,  attiacted  imt  little  alien- 
'  li.ii'.n  Mi-.'.it.t  in  )'.  mm  1 1  \li:<n'nn.  M.ii.  !i,  P/I  \. 


FINANCK,    INDUSTRY,   AND   COMMERCE     213 

tion  in  other  official  communications.  Nevertheless  it 
is  a  jx>int  which  will  have  considerable'  importance  in 
the  event  of  a  crisis  developing1. 

The  annual  efflux  of  gold  is  a  question  which  would 
appear  to  rest  on  a  very  definite  basis,  and  one  which 
is  responsible  for  a  tremendous  amount  of  anxiety.  The 
authorities  are  firm  believers  in  the  mercantilist  theory, 
and  regard  with  dire  dismay  the  excess  of  ini{X)rts  over 
exjxirts.  The  annual  drain  of  gold  is  allowed  to  be 
between  eleven  and  twelve  million  sterling*  per  annum, 
a  calculation  which  is  arrived  at  as  follows  :  — 

Yen  Yen 

Average  excess  of  imports  (5  years)  : 

Japan  Proper    20,307,324 

Formosa    4,ii/>,972 

K(  >rea      21 ,239,04 1 

•  45,*33.337 

Special  imports    10,154,860 

Interest     on     National,    .Municipal,    and 

Company  bonds  72,761,068 


128,749.865 

In  How   of    gold    by   other    causes    than 

ordinary  trade  63,804,125 


Net  cfllux    64,945.740 

Bonds  redeemed  (average  for  15  years)...  46,470, 109 


Yi  i  I.4I5.S49 

The  above  statement  was  drawn  up  in  January,  1912, 
by  Marquis  Inouye  and  Baron  Shibusawa,  with  the  assist- 
ance of  the  various  banks,  steamship  offices,  and  govern- 
ment departments,  and  as  the  Marquis  and  the  Baron  are 
two  of  the  most  eminent  of  Japanese  financiers,  their 
statement  is  worthy  of  some  consideration. 

According  to  a  certain  school  of  economics  the  theory 
of  the  balance  of  trade  is  responsible  for  the  whole  of 
the  financial  troubles  of  the  country.  Certainly  it  is 
a  serious  matter  to  have  to  find  an  annual  amount  of 
gold  such  as  that  mentioned,  and  strenuous  efforts  are 
made  by  the  authorities  to  make  the  figures  appear  more 


2i4  JAPAN    AT   THE    CROSS    ROADS 

kind — an  etTort  in  which  they  regularly  fail,  because 
the  publication  of  the  true  figures  would  at  once  dis- 
close their  disregard  for  the  no-loan  [>olicy.  I'nfortu- 
nately  it  is  very  difficult  to  LM-I  at  the  correct  figures, 
and  in  addition  it  appears  doubtful  as  to  what  is  meant 
by  the  efflux.  For  example,  are  the  payments  out  of  Un- 
reserve in  London  included?  From  the  above  account 
it  would  appear  that  they  are  on  the  etilux  side,  and 
yet  if  they  are  not  also  included  in  the  inllux,  the  above 
figures  cannot  be  correct,  Howe\er.  whether  or  not  the 
reserve  abroad  and  its  manipulations  are  included  in 
the  calculations,  the  basis  of  Manjuis  Inouye's  figures 
are  fallacious.  To  be^in  with,  nothing  like  Y-jo.ooo.noo 
of  foreign  debt  is  redecm<-d  JKT  annum.  (  )n  the 
contrary,  the  average  redemption  over  fifteen  years  ha-, 
been  at  the  rate  of  V I  n.  5<;o,'> jd.  whilst  the  average 
Ixirrowint;  in  the  funded  foreign  debt  has  been 
Y  i  i  6,028.746,  without  mentioning1  municipal  and  com- 
pany borrowing.  Unfortunately  no  mention  is  made  by 
the  Marcjui-.  of  borrowings,  and  it  i^  uncertain  whether 
the  [Hircha-e  of  Japane.-.c  internal  lxnul>  by  London  and 
Paris  is  included,  an  item  whieh  often  exceeds 
\' i  5,000.0^0  j>er  annum.  By  >j)ei-ial  ini]M>rts  is  meant 
^oo(L  on  government  account,  whieh  mo-i  certainly  ex- 
ceed Y  i  0,000,000  per  annum.  Iron  ore  for  the  Imperial 
Foundry  amount-;  to  Y7.ooo.ooo  per  ainium.  The 
1  inflow  of  iM>M  from  other  e,iu-e>  than  trade  '  is  that 
highly  speculative  item  known  rl-ewhere  a^  '  m\  i-iMe 
im[x)rts.  and  include,  -hinpni^  return^,  in-ura'ice  tourist- 
fli  -bur-ements,  interest  on  foreign  iiivcstineiits.  etc. 

Neither  th'-  fi^un-^  ;:iven  by  M.injui-  In«>i!\-'-  nur  any 
figures  ^riven  by  the  financial  authorities  are  <>f  any 
value  as  th'-y  arrange  th«-m.  They  are  so  \a.;ue  ami  i'»n 
fu-ed  that  t'>  bas<-  any  d'-du-tions  on  t!i«-m  ^  useless. 
I  do  not  Ix-li'-v  that  the  r\ndu-  of  ;-<ild  is  at  present 
any  serious  danger,  thou;1, h  I  ijuahfy  tin-  i-t  Cement  bv 
aildin;.;  that  I  am  d'Mii;i",  entiri-lv  with  the  -itu.ition 

b'foie     the      U,ir.          It      Is,      t'i      be.'lil      \\ltll,      Ijlllte      impossible 

to    talk    aUnit    an    exodu^   of    ;.','>M    (mm    Japan,    and    at    is 


FINANCE,    INDUSTRY,   AND   COMMERCE     215 


equally  futile  to  debit  the  payments  for  redemption  and 
interest  unless  ne\v  loans  are  also  credited.  The  following 
table  was  drawn  up  by  an  unofficial  Japanese  economist, 
and  presents  another  side  to  thi-.  question.  I  Ix-lieve 
that  previous  to  the  war  there  had  been  an  influx  of 


gold,    though    probably    not    a 
suggests. 

Yen 


Debit 
Interest  on  foreign  N'a 

tional  Debt  (actual)  .  65,1^7,000 
Redemption     (5     years 

average)    i'>o<><>,<tx> 

Municipal   Bonds  (Int. 

and     Red.    actual)...     <),55^.o<x> 
Government       Imports 

(average)1     22/>oo,(x>o 

Kxcess   of    Imports   (5 

years)    4S,j6o.,(xx> 

Balance   [being  influx)  53,76o,(xx> 


great     as    this    account 


Yen 


l,oSo,otX> 


Credit 

I'.ullion    Import   (at    5 
yeai  s)  .................. 

Invisible  Imports  '    ... 

Colonist^1  ...............     28,<xx>,o»o 

Lo  :ms(aveiage  5  years)  i  i6/>3H,o(xi 
(inld  and  Silver  prod.     13,000,000 


¥21 6, 708, cxx.) 


¥210,70^,000 


The  above  figures  are  all  from  official  sources,  and 
have  bien  carefully  checked.  So  far  from  there  being 
an  exodus,  there  is  an  influx,  and  this,  it  seems  to  me, 
must  lx%  correct,  because  the  rate  at  which  money  has 
been  borrowed  exceeds  considerably  the  rate  of  pay- 
ment. \Vhcn  the  money  really  begins  to  leave  the  country 
imports  will  be  naturally  checked.  If  the  nation  has 
not  got  money  it  can't  buy,  but  so  long  as  it  has  money, 
whether  from  internal  production  or  by  inflow,  it  will 
go  on  importing.  The  actual  inflow  and  outflow  of  coin 
or  bullion  from  the'  country  as  a  geographical  unit  is 
in  this  connection  of  no  real  importance.  As  we  know, 
the  Hank  of  Japan  keeps  a  great  portion  of  its  reserve 
abroad.  So  does  the  government,  and  so  does  the  nation. 
What  is,  or  at  all  events  should  be,  understood  by  thi:i 

1  Official  Estimates  1013. 

X.B. — All  Korean,  Formosa,  and  Manchurian  figures  are  omitted 
except  a  sum  of  YiS,^iio.<\v>  included  under  invisible  imports,  being 
dividends  and  interests  on  investments  in  China  and  Manchuria. 


2if,     JAPAN  AT  THK  CROSS  ROADS 

so-called  exodus  of  gold  is  the  profit  and  loss  account 
of  Japan  in  its  transactions  with  the  world.  A  nation's 
solvency,  especially  a  debtor  nation's,  does  not  depend 
on  the  amount  of  gold  in  the  country,  and  I  contend  that 
the  proceed^-  of  loans  incurred  ought  to  be  considered 
in  this  problem  just  as  much  as  the  redemption  of  such 
loans,  the  more  so  as  revenue  is  not  sufficient  to  cover 
the  debt  service,  and  when  debt  is  repaid  it  is.  out  of 
the  proceeds  of  new  loans. 

The  financial  trouble  in  Japan  has  really  no  connec- 
tion with  the  gold  reserve,  the  amount  of  the  currency, 
or  the  exodus  of  gold.  It  is  the  result,  in  common  parlance, 
of  high  living  and  low  thinking.  Alxuit  three-fifths  of 
the  National  Debt  is  unproductive.  The  Russian  \Var 
h.is  given  Japan  nothing  which  can  produce  large  returns. 
Korea  every  year  needs.  Yo.. 000,000  or  more.  Saghalicn 
and  Kwantung"  also  are  a  burden  on  the  Kxcheijuer. 
Japanese  investments,  in  Marn  Iniria  are  not  yet  producing 
any  great  revenue.  In  addition  the  [H>sition  Japan  has 
attained  as  a  (ontinent.il  jxiwer  necessitates  an  ei  ormoiis 
military  expenditure.  She  is  mightily  over-taxed  to  pay 
the  (  h.irg" •-,  on  the  \\ar  loans  and  to  maintain  her  position, 
a:i<l  even  so  the  p-venur  is  iiisiillii  lent  to  cover  expendi- 
ture. As  a  re-ul'  further  loans  have  to  be  raised.  Capital 
and  lalxuir  are  being  heavily  oppressed  to  pay  for  the 
ilaii-'  ambitions.  There  is  onlv  one  course  open  to  her 
financial  authorities  it  they  really  wish  to  save  a  -enoiis 
disaster.  It  is  to  drop  all  aggressive  ambitions,  t,,  cut 
doun  mi'itary  exp'-ndr.ure  to  a  Injure  uell  uitliin  th< 
«our;tr\'->  means,  and  with  the  money  thus  economi/ed, 
pav  oil  debt.  «  a-e  off  taxation,  and  develop  prodlUtlVe 
industries.  Im  ulenlally  ilev  \vill  do  well  to  take  a  <our-e 
of  |e  .  on  -  in  polrral  economv  and  accountant). 

An  adverse  balatn  <•  of  trad'-  does  not  ni'-an  thai  a 
loiintr.  is  hung  on  i;->  tapiial.  Iliat  i-  an  exploded 
thtorv.  Ka.'.  'o'to'i  imported  from  India  and  Anieiit.i 
is  made  III'M  \arn  foi  <\j)o;t  to  <  liina,  .in<l  •  otton  fabn<  •. 
for  -ale  in  [an  in.  <  Li'ia.  and  Au-tiaha.  Mat  huier\ 
earn-,  manv  tinp  ^  it^  own  \alu--  in  the  w«irk  it  does  in 


FINANCK,    INDUSTRY,    AND    COMMKRCK     217 

the  mills.  The  Wakamatsu  foundry  irnjx)rts  ore,  which 
makes  plates,  which  build  a  ship,  which  in  a  few  years 
earns  freights  and  fares  to  many  times  its  cost. 

Take  the  ca-.e  of  cotton.  The  import  of  raw  and 
ginned  in  1911  was  i  4  v  >  million  yen.  What  happened 
to  it?  It  produced  cotton  yarn,  which  wa  •.  exported 
ro  the  value  of  Y  jo, 200,000,  and  fabiicx.  exported  to 
the  value  of  Y37,ooo,oo<>,  and  in  addition  piece  goods 
for  the  local  market  to  the  value  of  Y  1 40,000,000.  It 
provided  work  for  1,900,000  spindles  in  ninety  factories, 
employing  .S8,5oo  operatives,  Ix-sides  the  immense  number 
working  in  the  weaving  mills.  It  produced  ovei 
Y/, 000,000  in  freight  and  insurance,  and  enabled  the 
twenty-six  spinning  companies  to  pay  an  average  dividend 
of  1 4' 4  per  cent. 

Yet,  according  to  the  authorities  in  Japan,  the  country 
lost  07-3  million  yen  over  :he  transaction,  because  cotton 
exports  were  valued  at  that  much  le^s  than  the  imports. 

The  balance  of  trade  theory  is  a  relic  of  feudalism, 
and  the  sooner  Japanese  economists  reali/e  it  the  better. 

I  do  not  suggest  that  Japan  can  do  without  foreign 
money,  because  she  cannot,  and  money  will  have  to  be 
borrowed  from  time  to  time  for  railway  and  industrial 
purposes.  What  she  must  not  continue  to  do  is  to  borrow 
money,  nominally  for  industrial  purposes,  but  really  to 
bolster  up  that  illusory  reserve  in  London.  The'  industrial 
purposes  will  have  sooner  or  later  to  be  provided  for  in 
reality  as  well  as  in  name,  and  it  will  save  very  painful 
criticism  if  loans  in  the  future  are  de\o;ed  to  their  proper 
purposes. 

The  present  Ministry  have  taken  the  wi>e  course  of 
cutting  down  the  Sinking  l-'uiul.  Investors  will  be  far 
better  pleased  to  have  Y 20. 000,000  per  annum  sure 
than  spasmodic  lumps  and  a  volley  of  promises  which 
are  incapable  of  fulfilment.  Taxation  must  be  reduced, 
because  at  its  present  level  it  is  crippling  the  future  oi 
the  country.  Whilst,  as  1  believe,  the  exodus  of  gold 
has  in  the  past  been  a  bogey,  it  may  become  a  reality 
in  the  future,  because  the  destruction  of  capital,  owing 


2iS  JAPAN    AT   THK    CROSS    ROADS 

to  the  present  war,  is  ^oini;  to  keep  the  foreign  investor 
interested  at  home  for  some  time  to  come.  In  the  future 
Japan  will  not  be  able  to  raise  loans  as  in  the  past, 
and  she  must  make  her  revenue  suffice  for  her  needs. 
Whilst  on  the  one  hand  her  imports  will  be  checked,  thus 
helping  to  sa\e  money,  on  the  other  her  manuia<  tures 
\sill  also  sutler  from  depression  abroad.  Nevertheless, 
she  should  be  able  to  develop  her  foreign  trade  \ery 
considerably,  though  it  will  be  at  the  expense  of  KUL;- 
land  and  (Iermany.  and  to  a  certain  extent  of  America. 
Having  to  pay  out  of  her  own  resources  the  interest  and 
redemption  of  her  bonds,  she  will  be  obliged  to  do  this 
by  legitimate  commercial  methods.  These  are  either  bv 
proceeds  of  investment  abroad,  by  freight  and  carry- 
ing services,  or  by  a  favourable  trade  balance.  The 
former  she  cannot  yet  avail  herself  of  because  she  has 
no  considerable  foreign  investments  ;  it  must  be  done, 
therefore,  by  th--  two  latter.  Kveti  since  the  be^inninv; 
of  the  war  Japanese  shipping  has  received  a  considerable 
impetus,  and  lines  are  running  through  the  Panama  ("anal 
and  across  the  Atlantic.  Her  e.xjxirt  trade  must  be 
developed,  and  so  developed  that  her  acquisition  o| 
markets  shall  be  permanent  and  not  teni]>orar\  .  To 
do  this  she  must  reduce  taxation,  because  it  is  taxa 
tion  whi<  h  is  annihilating  her  principal  manufacturing 
asset,  cheapness  of  labour.  If  new  loans  are  really 
estopped,  the  favourable  trade  balance  \\ill  automata  ally 
arrive.  When  foreign  debt  is  created,  the  pim  eed>  do 
not  ^o  to  fap.in  in  coin  but  in  i^ooiis.  and  the  implement- 
ing of  the  self-denying  ordinance  will  in  itself  <  he<  k 
imjx>rts,  and  tar  more  effectually  than  Inijx-ri.il  Kescnpts 
aii'  I  <  iflii  ial  encouragement . 

\\'ith  a  leform  of  the  tinain  e-  it  is  to  be  hoped  th.it 
there  \\ill  b«-  a  diminution  of  th'-  a-  tmties  of  the  I  main  ial 
<  'oinnn  --loners  abroad,  so  far  a^  their  pres ,  (  anipai:;ii 

l<     'o:|<eni'-d.          Mall',      of     the      -fa'elllents     j--Ued      I'1.       them 

have  been,    to     a\    th'-    NM   t.   mi  d<  .  id  in.; .   it    not    untiuthful. 

I   he\     s,-e!||     to    be    ]Illbiied     Ultll     the    lie'ief     that     ail\     <    tllH    I-I1I 

of    |apane-e   tinali'  e  >  must   be  ba   <:d  on  a  <le   lie  to  damage 


FINANCE,    INDUSTRY,   AND   COMMERCE     219 

that  country,  and  entirely  fail  to  recognize  that  any 
damage  to  Japanese  credit  must  inflict  heavy  losses  on 
that  country's  financial  hackers,  the  British  investors. 
No  editor  and  no  correspondent  would  therefore  dare 
to  publish  harsh  criticisms  without  a  knowledge  of  the 
facts  before  him,  and  unless  he  was  con\ine<-d  of  its 
justification.  It  cannot  be  denied  that  the  country  is 
over-taxed,  the  expenditure  abnormal,  the  National  Debt 
for  the  most  part  unproductive,  and  the  administration 
muddled,  and  in  addition  there-  is  a  morbid  objection 
to  the  publication  of  the  truth.  A  Japanese  reviewer 
criticizing  my  publication  of  the  Memoirs  of  C.oiint 
Hityashi,  said  that  everything  contained  therein  was 
already  well  known  to  the  Japanese  public.  Exactly  ! 
But  not  to  the  British  public,  and  the  object  of  the 
publication  was  to  enlighten  the  latter.  It  is  the  same 
with  the  finances.  The  Japanese  public  is  well  aware 
of  the  defects  of  the  financial  situation,  but  the  authorities 
object  to  the  foreign  public,  which  has  found  and  lost 
a  lot  of  money  for  Japan,  sharing  the  secrets. 

On  several  occasions  when  in  Japan  I  had  consider- 
able trouble  over  the  financial  reports  sent  by  me  to 
London,  and  I  refer  to  some  of  them  as  illustrating  this 
fear  of  criticism.1 

I  must  say  that  these  did  not  occur  during  Mr.  Yama- 
moto's  regime.  That  gentleman  was  always  ready  to 
give  any  information  possible,  and  as  long  as  he  con- 
trolled the  department,  the  press  could  rely  on  being 
told  the  substantial  truth.  During  the  Ministry  of  Count 

1  In  my  dealings  with  Japanese  statesmen  I  adopted  a  plan  winch 
ou^ht  to  have  prevented  any  misquotations  ari^-intj.  I  never  made  any 
notes  during  an  interview,  because  an  interviewer  who  doo  tin.-, 
inevitably  develops  a  tendency  to  emphasi/e  picturesque  phrases  out 
of  proportion  to  their  context.  After  the  interview  I  would  write  it 
out  from  memory,  and  then,  before  sending  to  London,  submit  it  to  the 
interviewer  for  ZTV.  Only  al'ter  it  had  been  >i^ned  by  him  or  his 
private  secretary  was  it  di>patched.  By  this  means  it  was  difficult  for 
me  to  misquote  a  Minister,  and  equally  difficult  for  a  Minister  to  claim 
that  he  had  been  misquoted,  an  excise  which  has  become  very 
frequent  in  connection  with  interviews  in  the  Japanese  press. 


2 jo  JAPAN    AT    TH1-:    CROSS    ROADS 

Yamamoto  it  was  by  no  means  so  easy  to  obtain  infor- 
mation, and  it  \vas  quite  impossible  to  rely  on  the 
correctness  of  statements  issued  to  the  press.  At  the 
time  when  a  parcel  of  short-term  bills  were  issued  in 
London  and  Paris  in  March,  n;i  >,  a  statement  was 
given  to  the  pres>  representatives  that  a  |H>rtion  of  these 
bills  were  to  be  issued  in  New  Y<»rk  through  Messrs. 
Kuhn,  Loeb  \-  Co.  This  information  I  telegraphed  to 
London.  Two  days  later  another  statement  was  issued 
denying  that  there  had  ever  been  any  intention  of  issuing 
bills  in  New  York.  I  happened  to  go  to  Yokohama  that 
day,  and  went  into  one  of  the  foreign  banks,  which 
h.is  largely  to  do  with  governmental  finance.  I  asked 
the  manager  about  the  denial  of  a  New  York  issue. 

It's  all  lies,"  he  said.  "Look  here."  He  pulled  out 
the  decode  of  a  cable  from  hi>  New  York  agency,  saying 
that  the  projxjsed  New  York  issue  had  fallen  through 
as  only  £11.000  could  be  underwritten  there.  Leaving 
the  bank.  I  walked  in  to  the  manager  in  the  Far  I.a-t 
of  one  of  the  big  American  insurance  companies.  Know- 
ing that  they  Usually  underwrote  Japanese  issues  in  New 
York,  1  a-ked  him  alxmt  it.  \"esterdav,"  he  said, 

I  got  a  (able  from  New  York  to  say  that  they  had 
been  a-ked  to  underwrite  part  of  these  bonds  and  had 
refused.  They  instructed  me  to  go  to  the  Finance  people 
in  lokyo  and  tell  tip  in  that  as  they  were  forcing  us 
under  th«'  new  Insurance  Retaliations  to  stop  writing 
new  business,  in  fap.m,  we  \\  ic  forced  to  stup  \\nting 
their  Ixmds  in  New  York.  I  told  them  so  \eMerday 
afternoon."  I  -nb-<  qu<  nt h  -au  the  diti-  i.il  roj-on-i!)!"  tor 
is-iiin:;  the-e  t  w< »  ( ontradi' tory  ;.o'i  -e,  to  the  jii'is,.  .uid 
.1  keil  luni  tc,  (\pl.illl.  "  All,  S  -e--./'  he  -aid  ;  "  I  .ill)  \et\ 
orr;,  lo;  sou.  It  is  .1  mi-take  -oiiieu  heie."  I  thought 
he  mi;dit  ha\e  reserved  In,  -^irrow  tin  the  department. 
Alxitif  the  aM)e  time  a  tan;.;!''  arose  in  L'»i!i!on  bef.\'-en 
Renter',  .tnd  th«-  I  •  in.i!i-  n!  '  'imrni-  -loner  in  <onne<tioii 
witli  a  spec,  h  nia<!e  b\  I'.ai<>;i  Takaha-hi  in  th'  I)iet. 
I  rejMirt'-d  the  Mini  t'-r  a-  -a\in:;  that  Y  i<  10,000.000 
\s  a  .  required  for  new  undertakings,  .md  was  ix  in;;  ;;iadn- 


FINANCK,    INDUSTRY,   AND   COMMKRCK     221 

ally  raised  by  short-term  bonds,  a  statement  which, 
published  in  London,  produced  a  flat  denial  from  Mr. 
Kongo  Mori,  and  a  telegraphic  inquiry  to  myself  as  to 
whether  I  was  sure  of  my  facts.  I  had  assumed  that 
the  Minister,  speaking  in  his  official  rapacity  Ix-fore  tin- 
Diet  on  the  government's  financial  programme,  referred 
to  the  government's  needs,  and  on  inquiry  of  the  banks 
and  in  diplomatic  circles  I  found  that  the  same  view 
prevailed.  On  inquiry  at  the  department,  however,  I 
learned  that  the  Minister  did  not  refer  at  that  momeni  to 
government  finance,  but  to  the  requirements  of  the  nation 
at  large,  which,  considering  the  official  control  of  foreign 
issues,  I  regarded  as  splitting  straws.  That  the  oflicial 
explanation  was  by  no  means  the  general  view  was 
evidenced  by  the  comment  of  the  vernacular  press,  the 
Jiji  S/iitnpo,  for  example,  said  :  '  To  procure  funds 
for  the  construction  of  railways  by  means  of  short -term 
bonds  issued  abroad  is  a  mistake,  which  can  only  lead 
to  serious  trouble,  and  signifies  a  return  to  the  follies 
of  the  second  Katsura  Cabinet." 

It  is  foible  of  the  Financial  Agency  that  nothing  which 
appears  in  the  London  press  with  regard  to  Japanese 
finances  should  be  regarded  as  correct,  or  even  as  credible, 
unless  it  bears  the  official  imprimatur.  One  example 
of  this  occurred  in  the  same-  month,  March,  1915,  when 
I  wrote  to  London  and  re{X)rted  that  it  was  proposed 
to  issue  C2, 000,000  of  Korean  Oriental  Exploitation 
bonds  in  Paris,  a  statement  I  later  amplified  by  adding 
the  Industrial  Bank  and  the  Franco -Japanese  Hank  as 
the  intermediaries.  Mr.  Mori  wrote  to  Renter's  that 
"  there  is  not  a  word  of  truth  in  your  Tokyo  corre- 
spondent's statement,"  yet  an  examination  of  the  Korean 
issues  shows  that  in  due  course  the  loan  was  issued  in 
Paris,  and  through  those  very  two  banks.  Similar  inci- 
dents are  of  constant  occurrence  with  any  correspondent 
who  attempts  to  report  Japanese  finance  without  paying 
due  homage  at  the  official  shrine.  The  most  notorious 
occasion  which  concerned  myself,  however,  was  in 
November,  1913,  and  the  usual  categorical  denial  from 


222  JAPAN    AT   TIIK   CROSS    ROADS 

Gracechurch   Street    received    a   rude    contradiction    from 
a    quite    unex{>ected    quarter. 

On  November  8th  that  year  I  sent  ,i  message  to 
I-ondon  announcing  that  negotiations  were  pending  be- 
tween the  Japanese  (iovernment  and  French  capitalists 
for  a  loan  amounting  to  1140,000,000,  to  Ix-  taken  up 
in  amounts  of  ^4, 000,000  for  ten  years,  and  was  intended 
to  cover  railway  construction.  This  message  was 
published  in  London  on  November  26th.  On  November 
27th  Mr.  Kengt)  Mori  issued  a  c  omplete  denial,  couched 
in  rather  superior  and  sarcastic  language.  The  denial 
was  sent  on  to  me,  but  I  could  only  reply  :  Wait  and 
see  !  It  w.is  obvious  from  the  letter  I  received  that 
Renter's  in  London  were-  disjM>sed  to  Ix-lieve  the  Financial 
Commissioner's  statement.  On  December  1 2th,  M. 
Caillaux,  French  Minister  of  Finance,  said  Ik-fore  the 
Budget  Commission  of  the  Chamber  of  Deputies,  that 
the  Japanese  Government  had  approached  French 
capitalists  to  borrow  Frs.  1,000,000,000  for  engimvr- 
ing  purj*)ses,  and  that  the  negotiations  had  failed  :  that 
then  the  Japanese  authorities  had  opened  negotiations  for 
a  loan  of  Frs. 500, 000,000,  and  that  the  negotiations  were 
-[\\\  proceeding.  It  is  im[>os.sible  that  the  Financial  Com- 
missioner was  unaware  «>t  the  negotiations,  for  he  had 
only  left  Japan  on  November  2nd  to  return  to  his  post. 
I  leave  the  reader  to  compare  the  three  statements  and 
(let  ide  who-e  was  the  inexactitude. 

Renter,  Km.iih  i.il  C":nmU-                    M.  l/.uii.mx. 

7\>*\,'.  .V,;.  S//;.  i;ii--|..iK-r,                           /'.;/;,.  1  >i  .  .   I  .'//;. 

l.--n,i<  it.  .Y    :•.  2-t',t. 

puMi»lie<l   in    l.'-:i'!cin  p-ibli^he<i      •  n      \<>v.  puhh  lied    I>rr.    i  ;th. 

on  N"V.    ,''•'!:.      |.ip:ui  .'"/t1!.         'llici'-       li.e.r  J.ip.m  h.i-  .ipplii-d    ti>t 

j^     tr\in,'.     to      I.ll-r      .1  1'irll    nn    -'.all    nri''!l-  ;i     1.  .111      nl      .1      lilllimi 

lr,.ui     !ui       /)o,i.. )<  x  K  i  ,il!u!l>    c;t!n  I     i;i    I'.ili-^  h.llliv,      |i.;i        .is        |i.i- 

i.i     l>i!h'  n    f;.in.         in       "i    anvv.  lu  tr    il  -r    1:1  .ipplu  .iti  'ii    lie.    1  <  rn 

l'.i:i-,r.i    i  .tilw.iv  «'i>:i-        tin'    \>.<<;M.      'I'.  ••:<•    i-  uii^u.  (  r    -fi:i     i..i~    IT 

-tit;-  ti'.n.  M  '     ii:t«'ii!;<  n     '  •[     !><>i-  I'.un     in;1'  t:.r,i''i)~     fi*l 

i  "\Miitj  I'licii^n  t'.ipit.il  ii.ilt        li..il        .iiii"iinl. 

1(1        IK  !l    J'1,1  pi  •(•-..  'I   in-       III'  •!)<•  V      Will       lu- 

ll    t  tl      l<    !       Clllll 


FINANCE,   INDUSTRY,   AND   COMMERCE     223 

It  might  almost  apix-ar,  as  Tin-  Japan  Chronicle 
pointed  out,  that  the  Japanese  Financial  Commissioner 
was  not  so  well  posted  on  Japanese  financial  negotia- 
tions as  Renter's  correspondent  in  Tokyo.  These  are 
only  a  few  of  the  occasions  when  reports  from  Tokyo 
with  regard  to  financial  conditions  have  been  vehemently 
denied,  and  my  object  in  drawing  attention  to  them 
is  to  point  the  moral  that  the  official  statements  are 
not  trustworthy.  That  such  denials  will  be  less  frequent 
in  the  future  is  highly  probable  since  Renter's  have 
surrendered  their  interests  to  a  semi-official  concern,  whose 
existence  will  depend  on  complying  with  official  require- 
ments. 

The  naive  (lenient  is  issued  in  London  have  their 
counterpart  in  the  official  utterances  at  Tokyo.  It  must 
be  honestly  confessed  that  the  majority  of  Japanese  states- 
men have  little  conception  of  the  real  state  of  the  finances, 
and  very  little  reali/ation  of  how  near  they  are  wander- 
ing to  disaster.  The  present  Premier,  Count  Okuma, 
has  a  world-wide  reputation,  which,  even  if  it  has  been 
cheaply  earned,  at  least  necessitates  a  consideration  of 
his  remarks.  In  the  January  (1914)  number  of  the 
Shin-Nihon  he  very  strongly  criticized  the  economic  con- 
ditions. He  pointed  out  that  the  return  to  the  old  loaning 
policy  was  merely  raising  fresh  foreign  loans  to  pay 
off  old  ones,  and  causing  an  enormous  rise  in  the  volume 
of  currency,  with  the  attendant  increase  in  prices  and 
imports  and  decline  in  the  reserve.  lie  demanded  that 
the  loaning  policy  be  abandoned,  that  the  Bank  of  Japan's 
gold  reserve  against  notes  be  used  to  redeem  loans, 
and  that  the  note  issue  be  expanded  \\-ithont  regard 
to  a  bullion  reserve.  This  proposal  is  not  unlike  Sun- 
yat-sen's  proposal  to  abolish  gold  and  silver  in  China 
and  make  paper  the  sole  medium  of  wealth.  The 
simplicity  of  this  proposal  of  Count  Okuma  lias  perhaps 
been  only  equalled  by  his  sudden  volte  lace  after  assuming 
office  in  April,  1914.  when,  having  assembled  the  re- 
porters, he  said  :  '  To  speak  as  briefly  as  possible,  the 
tinances  of  the  country  are  in  a  quite  secure  condition. 


224  JAPAN    AT   THK   CROSS    ROADS 

I  would  not  blame  you  if  you  wonder  at  this  declara- 
tion." i  They  certainly  did.  )  "  You  have  doubtless  heard 
and  re. id  a  ^rreat  number  of  gloomy  things  about  the 
fiscal  condition  of  Japan.  Yesterday  it  was  in  .1  bad 
condition.  but  to-day  I  declare  to  you  it  i>  all  ri^ht. 
The  elucid.ition  of  the  riddle  is  quite  simple.  All  depends 
uj)on  the  administration.  Previous  cabinets,  notably  the 
one  which  I  have  succeeded,  have  not  been  doin^  what 
they  ou^ht  t<>  have  done  in  linain  ial  affairs."  The  C'ount 
i  an  alway>  be  depended  on  to  say  something  startling, 
but  thi>  declaration  resembles  nothing  so  much  as  Miss 
Vesta  Til  lev'-  somr  with  the  refrain 


I   joined   tin.-  ,ir;nv  yc-U-rd.iy 
So  (In.-  .11  inv  iif  t'  '-d.iv's  alright 


The  mental  at  robatics  of  fapanesc  statesmanship  were 
well  exemplified  by  the  ('ount  tsvo  months  later,  when 
he  had  to  an-wer  in  the  I)  let  an  interpellation  on  his 
tinaiu  ial  views.  lie  said  :  "  It  is  true  that  when  in 
op[H)sition  1  said  that  the  national  finances  \\ould  allow 
ot  no  expansion  ot  the  armaments,  nor  of  a  reduction 
of  taxation.  Now,  as  you  have  he.  ml,  I  .nn  framing  a 
HudiM  t,  allouiii;;  for  an  expansion  of  the  Army  and 
the  Nasy.  and  lor  a  reduction  ot  taxation.  I  hese  luo 
opinion^  (lit  not  M-etn  consilient,  and  I  <  an  mils  explain 


enthu-ia-m    uh--n     in    opposition  !  "        S'f     trtin^H    i'Jorui 
niuntli  ! 

1  he  li;J)t  -h-aitc'l  manner  in  \shi'  h  ott'u  laldom 
ajiproai  In  -  a  consideration  of  dnai.<  i.ti  altair-  1-  e\  ident 
in  the  manner  in  \\hii  h  it  refer-,  to  the  burden  of  taxation. 
Mi.  \\ak.itstiki,  sslii-:i  '  OmmissKdier  in  London,  m.ide 
a  1  1  putai  10:1  bv  In-  ;;losvin:',  o[t:mi-m.  lie  ssas  one 
of  (ho  e  pi  Hi'  ipa!  1  v  responsible  for  the  proposal  to  ji.ts 
oil  tin  i  I'-b'  in  tin:;  -.  \  <-at  -,  b\  s  fin.:  •'  '  i''  '-'  '  '  •'  1("  '  '  "  '  ' 
a  yrai  for  th--  p;:ipo  «-.  \\  «  11.  one  thud  of  tip-  j"-nod 
ha  .  p.i  e.i,  arid  the  total  of  the  debt  h.i  M  -  !i  :•  >  pel 
icllt.  It  s\a  th--  ame  ollnlal  ^  ho  i  on  ld'le«l  ;  :;  .  r 


FINANCE,   INDUSTRY,   AND   COMMERCE     225 

cent,  of  the  national  income  as  a  comparatively  low 
measure  of  taxation,  and  even  then  lie  was  7  per  cent. 
below  the  fact. 

Prince  Katsura,  on  taking1  office  as  Premier  for  the  third 
time,  was  particularly  naive  in  his  remarks.  Addressing 
the  conference  of  Prefectural  officials,  lie  said  :  "  Having 
had  no  time  to  elaborate  a  general  administrative  policy, 
I  shall  frame  the  Budget  for  the  coming  fiscal  year 
in  accordance  with  that  of  the  present  year.  I  shall 
change  nothing  in  the  fundamental  jx>licy  which  I  followed 
in  my  previous  administrations.  It  is  unnecessary  to 
say  that  the  application  of  that  policy  may  vary  as 
circumstances  require.  For  example  to-day  it  is  par- 
ticularly necessary  to  keep  a  balance  between  revenue 
and  expenditure,  to  harmonize  government  finance  with 
public  economy,  and  to  strengthen  our  financial  and 
economic  bases."  It  might  almost  be  imagined  that  the 
Prince  had  forgotten  that  these  were  the  very  problems 
which  had  taken  him  back  to  office  in  1908. 

Mr.  Midzumachi,  Vice-President  of  the  Bank  of  Japan, 
was  the  author  of  a  typical  conlcur  dc  rose  report  during 
1912,  and  displayed  considerable  courage  in  setting  him- 
self against  the  whole  current  of  commercial  and  public 
opinion  at  that  time.  His  statements  were  so  typically 
bureaucratic  that  a  few  may  be  quoted  with  advantage. 
'  The  rate  of  the  advance  of  Japan's  trade  is  far 
ahead  of  that  of  any  other  country.  The  pessimism 
with  regard  to  our  trade  is  because  it  has  not  advanced 
as  rapidly  during  recent  years  as  during  the  seven  years 
after  the  China  war,  when  it  doubled  itself.  The  opinion 
that  our  export  trade  is  handicapped  by  the  high  prices 
of  commodities  is  wrong,  for  the  rise  in  prices  of  export 
goods  has  not  been  as  high  as  in  either  Paris  or  Hamburg. 
Neither  is  the  statement  correct  that  it  is  due  to  the 
burden  of  taxation,  for  Japan's  burden  of  taxation,  10- 
12  per  cent,  of  the  national  income,  is  less  than  that  of 
either  Italy  or  Spain,  and  in  the  neighbourhood  of  the 
burden  in  France  and  Russia.  Vet  Italy,  France,  and 
Russia  are  all  expanding  their,  trade,  It  is  true  that 

15 


226  JAPAN    AT   THE   CROSS    ROADS 

prices  in  Japan  arc-  much  higher  than  in  England  or 
America,  but  tin's  is  due  to  the  faulty  methods  of  distri- 
bution, not  to  taxation." 

It  is  rather  a  pity  that  otticials  do  not  a.^rce  on  their 
figures  before  s|x.-akin^.  because  Mr.  Mid/umachi's  prc- 
decessor,  Mr.  NV.ikat^iki,  made  the  burden  of  taxation 
24  per  cent,  for  national  taxes  and  }o  JHT  cent,  for 
national  and  local  taxes,  and  on  another  occasion  35  JKT 
cent.,  whilst  unofficial  economists  as  l)r.  Honda  have 
made  it  a->  hij^h  as  42  JMT  tent. 

1  will  leave  the  otii<  ial  eulogists,  repeating  that  their 
statements  often  retjuire  a  ;^ood  deal  of  salt. 

It  i->  fair  to  add  that  the  end  of  1014  saw  a  very 
substantial  reduction  in  the  debt,  no  less  than  \'38, 709,458 
having  been  wiped  out.  .A«  tu.dly  <>.S,ooo.ooo  yen  was 
redeemed  during  the  \ear  1^14- 15.  whiM  new  loans 
totalling  2v,ooo.ooo  \eii  were  i-Mied. 

At  the  be^innin;^  ol  this  i  hapter,  written  before  the 
result.^  for  the  lineal  \ear  1^14-15  were  available,  I 
said  that  I  did  not  think  that  Japan  would  ever  ^o 
bankrupt.  The  ie-ult^  only  ^tren^ihrn  ih.it  \iew.  li 
the  authorities  will  direi  t  their  ener^ie^  to  the  development 
of  the  productive  power-  ot  the  country,  economi/i1  on 
the  military  and  naval  programme-,  and  insist  on  the 
strictest  a<  <  i  luntal'ilit  \ ,  there  i>  n<>  n  u-on  uhy  Japanese 
tinaiH  e^  should  not  be  plaeed  on  a  sound  louiulaiion. 
'I  lie  war,  strange  ;^  it  may  apjiear,  uill  xlv''  Mrr  •'" 
ex<  client  op[>ortun!ty.  M.irket^  uill  U-  available  to  her 
which  '-he  has  never  betore  been  able  to  enter,  her 
shipping  <'an  extend  it-,  held  at  renmnei'aii\  <•  rales,  her 
exj^itt^  will  automatically  CM  eed  her  inipoit^,  and  that 
>tav  of  th--  weak-kiieeil.  tin-  tun  i:;ii  money  market,  will 
not  be  so  available  a  >  bi-fore.  In  addition  --he  will 
ha'v  tie  h  li'-ld-  in  SliantUIU;,  and  \\lll  le  el\e  lai;^e 
-•urn-,  in  return  for  the  arm-,  with  \\hnh  -he  i,  fuim^hin^ 
her  alii'  .  All  ol  thcM-  «  in  um-tan<  e  -  loim  a  lavourable 
conuiu  tion  lor  the  str'-n;;thenin:;  ol  h'-r  hnarn  ial  ba-es. 


CIIAPTKR    FIVE 
FINANCE,    INDUSTRY,    AND    COMMERCE 

PART  II 

WHATEVER  may  be  the  differences  between  official  esti- 
mates as  to  the  burden  of  taxation,  there  can  be  no  doubt 
whatever  that  the  country  is  seriously  overtaxed.  There 
would  be  also  little  dispute  of  the  statement  that  she  is 
badly  taxed  in  regard  to  quality  as  well  as  quantity, 
if  taxes  can  be  said  to  have  any  quality  or  quantity. 

The  vast  expenses  of  the  Russo-Japanese  war  and 
the  heavy  post-bellum  programme  necessitated  the  dis- 
covery of  new  sources  of  revenue,  and  it  would  now  be 
difficult,  in  a  moment  of  crisis,  for  die  authorities  to  find 
any  new  subject  for  imposition  unless,  indeed,  a  duty 
were  charged  on  births  and  deaths,  which  have  been 
described  as  the  only  moments  when  a  Japanese  is  not 
taxed.  As  the  Malthusian  doctrine  is  unpopular  and 
the  race  prolific,  a  fair  addition  to  revenue  might  well 
be  obtained. 

According  to  the  estimates  1913-14,  the  taxes  account 
for  ¥336,000,000,  or  0*63  of  the  ordinary  revenue,  and 
0-56  of  the  total  revenue.  Since  1903-4,  the  year  before 
the  war,  the  proceeds  of  taxation  have  increased  230 
per  cent.,  and  since  1 1)06-7,  tnc  year  after  the  war, 
19  per  cent.,  according  to  the  estimates,  and  27  per 
cent,  according  to  the  settled  accounts.  .WJiilst  a  certain 
increase  is  due  to  the  normal  development  of  the  country, 
by  far  the  larger  jxjrtion  is  due  to  the  increased  levies. 
The  reader  will  observe,  if  he  looks  down  the  schedule, 
that  there  ar.e  only  three  considerable  sources  of  revenue 


228  JAPAN    AT   THK   CROSS    ROADS 

--taxes,    stamps,    and   government   undertakings.     Practi- 
cally  all    the   re>t    is   book-keeping    and   borrowing. 

In  I';  i  2.  when  the  economic  di-tress  was  very  severe, 
Count  Okuma  ]H-r-onally  condin  ted  an  examination  into 
the  conditions  of  the  poorer  elates  in  Tokyo,  and  came 
to  the  conclusion  that  the  a',  erauv  income  of  the  Tokyo 
labourer's  family  was  YiS4  per  annum,  on  a  Calculated 
family  ot  five  heads.  That  works  out  at  a  fraction 
less  than  \'4o  '^41  per  annum  per  capita.  Deducting 
^5  j>er  cent,  of  this  income  for  taxes,  and  each  per>on 
;<eta  \2f>  to  k<-ep  himselt  for  a  twelvemonth.  It  is  not 
to  be  wondered  at  that  the  slum  quarters  of  Tokyo  exceed 
in  squalor,  po\i.-rty.  and  de-pair  the  -him-  of  any  Furopcan 
city.  'I  he  increase,  ot  crime  during  recent  years  has 
been  dire  tlv  trace. i!i]e  to  the  increase  in  tin-  cost  of 
living,  whit  h  has  been  aln,o-t  eii'irely  due  to  the  financial 
[x)hcy  of  the  eovcrr.ment .  Feel  once  defined  a  Finance 
Minister's  duty  a-  "  to  mak(>  the  country  a  clieap  country 
to  live  in."  In  tin-  th ••  Janane-c  auihoiities  have  toni- 
p'et'T/  and  i^nominiouslv  tailed,  and  ( iladstone's  reflec- 
tion- on  another  l-'i':ance  Minister'.-  action-  apply  equally 
to  them  :  "All  rxi  i>s  in  jiu!>lic  expenditure.  be\ond  the 

legitimate    want-    of    'h untry,    i-    no;    only    pecuniar)- 

waste,    but    a    ;.;reat    [»i!ri',d    and    a    urea'     moral    evil." 
Takini;    the    p;  !•  <       ot     i  >;oo    a-     loo.    the    index    pm  es 
ro-e   bv    I  «H  2   as   follow.-  : 


I  ;  ;  (   .,:;.-!!   ^'  .:  I,  , 

.'     -j  (       itt,.!l     I.J.I  I, 

.•]•!  S.'ui  tin:1        

I'/' 


1  h.it  a  ii"  1:1  'h"  <  o  t  ot  iivin.;  i\-  >  ;:,i 
;n  \v.ij.;<:s  l -.  ob\;ou-,  and  |.ipin«-  •  l.ibouii-i 
.1  very  i  on>ider.tb!"  ,ci.;::i' -ntation.  aver.i  n:;.;  liom  .}  ^ 
to  55  j;(:r  e-  :.t .  lh"  im  !'  .1  ••  in  \\a;;e  •  ua  -.  h'  iu<-\  er,  not 
equivalent  to  tlie  n  .<•  in  \y  >'•<•'  ^"r  u-'  ll  1:i  proportion 


FINANCK,    INDUSTRY,    AND    COMMKKCK     229 

to  the  increase-  in  taxation.  The  unrest  in  Japan  was 
very  deep,  as  the  large  number  of  strikes  clearly  indicated, 
and  this  number  would  have  been  further  increased  but 
for  the  official  view  that  strikes  savour  of  Socialism  which 
is  anathema  to  the  bureaucrats. 

It  is  no  easy  matter  for  a  Minister  to  finance  a  National 
Debt  such  as  that  which  Japan  has  incurred,  and  it  is 
practically  impossible  for  him  to  enforce,  even  if  IK; 
could  devise  a  programme  which  should  distribute  the 
burden  evenly.  It  is  very  difficult  for  foreigners  to 
realize  the  forces  in  opposition  to  a  liberal  financial 
scheme.  A  Minister  of  Finance,  on  entering  office  after 
the  war,  had  to  find  an  enormous  annual  sum,  and  on 
looking  round  for  sources  of  revenue,  had  to  strike-  out 
many  of  the  most  suitable  for  fear  of  offending  influential 
persons  or  damaging  veiled  interc-ts.  He  was  obliged 
to  adopt  the  most  expensive  method-^  of  taxation,  namely 
the  indirect,  because  he  wanted  to  make  his  impositions 
as  little  obvious  and  as  painless  as  possible  to  the  payer. 
It  was  for  this  reason  that  the  heavy  tariff,  the  transit  tax, 
the  monopolies  and  other  obnoxious  out  ill-defined  burdens 
were  levied.  If  I  take  a  railway  ticket  from  Tokyo  to 
Yokohama,  I  do  not  worry  thai  5  per  cent,  of  the  fare- 
is  going  into  the  government's  pocket.  I  have  got  to 
pay  the  fare  in  order  to  get  to  Yokohama,  and  the  ultimate 
destination  of  my  cash  is  of  no  importance.  Equally  I 
spend  30  sen  per  diem  in  tramcar  tickets,  and  six  of 
those  go  to  the  government.  My  coachman  receives 
Y2O  per  mensen,  on  which  he  has  to  keep  a  wife,  a 
sister,  and  two  children,  and  pay  Y5  per  mensen  to  his 
employer.  On  the  food  for  himself  and  family  he  has 
to  pay  Yr85  per  month  in  duty.  He  spends  36  sen 
a  week  on  tobacco  for  himself  and  his  women,  which 
is  exactly  double  what  the  same  quantity  of  better  quality 
tobacco  cost  in  ioo'>.  His  kimonos  cost  him  45  per 
cent,  more  than  in  loo",  and  50  per  cent,  of  the  increase 
goes  to  the  government  in  duty  on  raw  material,  in 
the  consumption  tax  on  textiles,  and  in  the  business  tax 
on  manufacturers  and  dealers.  The  average  increase 


230  J  A  P  A  N    AT  T  H  K   C  R  OSS    R( )  A I  >S 

in  my  coachman's  cost  of  living  since  igoo  was  over 
loo  per  cent.,  and  his  waives  had  gone  up  only  40  per 
cent.  Before  I  went  out  to  Japan  the  Chief  Accountant, 
basing  his  estimate  on  the  figures  of  1003,  informed  me 
that  I  could  engage  a  good  translator  at  \'2o  per  month. 
The  lowest  figure  for  an  unqualified  man  was  \"45,  and 
eventually  I  had  to  pay  from  Yoo  to  V75- 

It  is  not  difficult  to  diagnose  the  causes  of  this  in- 
crease in  the  cost  of  living.  The  burden  and  system  of 
taxation  are  mostly  responsible.  Indirect  taxation  is 
expensive,  inequitable,  and  conducive  to  evasion.  In 
indirect  taxation  the  burden  of  proof  is  on  the  government, 
and  necessitates  an  army  of  officials  to  as-ess  and  collect 
duties.  Hut  its  greatest  claim  to  expensiveness  is  in 
the  check  it  imj>o^es  on  manufacturers.  Sixty  per  cent, 
of  the  customs  duties  are  collected  on  raw  material,  and 
therefore  manufacturers  are  penali/ed  with  those  duties 
before  they  can  commence  operations.  When  in  addition 
foodstuffs  are  taxed  for  the  benefit  of  the  agriculturists, 
a  further  imposition  is  placed  on  industry,  because  wages 
are  based  on  the  cost  of  food.  As  if  tin-  were  not  enough, 
a  consumption  tax  of  10  JMT  cent,  ad  valorem  is  placed 
on  the  goods  before  they  leave  the  warehouses,'  \\  t;ix 
of  12  10,000  is  i  harged  on  whole-ale  distributors,  and 
//>  10,000  on  the  retailer,  in  addition  to  a  rental  duty 
of  <•)  per  cent,  on  premises,  and  a  YJ  poll  tax  on  every 
employe.  When  all  this  has  he;  n  aliowed  for  income 
tax,  varying  from  4  to  i  }  per  cent,  is  charged  on  the 
profit^.  All  this  succession  of  imports  eventually  lands 
on  the  shoulders  of  tin-  man  in  tin-  street.  There  is  no 
form  of  indire.  t  taxation  yet  devi-«-d  which  di»e->  not 
in  the  end  get  paid  by  the  consumer,  and  Japan  is  no 
ex<  ept  ion . 

It  is  an  an<  i'-nt  saying  that  what  is  the  government's 
bu  mess  is  nobody's  care.  In  |,ipan,  as  elsi-\vln-re,  to 
evade  the  ia\  (  ollector  \ -.  .1  meritorious  a'lion.  and  the 
naive  stat'-rii'  i.t  m  ide  b\  Japanese  ofti^ial.  in  London 
th.it  the  native ,  like  to  p  tv  taxes,  and  voluntai  ily  do  so 

1      1  fXtllf  )','  '0(lv 


FINANCK,    INDUSTRY,   AND   COMMKRCK     231 

without  hint  or  sway,  delightfully  pictures  things  as  they 
should  be,  but  not  as  they  arc. 

Direct  taxes  count  for  very  little  in  the  fiscal  scheme. 
The  land  tax,  the  income  tax,  and  the  business  tax  arc  the 
three  most  important,  and  it  is  in  connection  with  the 
last  two  that  there  is  most  complaint.  There  has  been, 
during  recent  years,  a  readjustment  of  the  income  tax, 
and  a  raising  of  the  untaxable  income  to  ¥400  per 
annum.  Those  most  severely  hit  by  it  are  the  professional 
middle  classes,  whose  incomes,  ranging  from  Yi,ooo  to 
¥5,000  per  annum,  are  taxed  from  3'  to  7  per  cent. 

There  is  no  doubt  that  the  big  fish  escape  from  the 
tax  net,  owing  to  the  extraordinary  system  of  feudal 
patronage.  The  Osaka  ASY////,  in  1912.  ransacked  tin- 
tax  books  and  registries  with  a  view  to  finding  out  who 
were  the  richest  men  in  the  kingdom,  and  the  investigations 
revealed  that  there  were  501  millionaires  in  yen  in  Japan, 
and  24  millionaires  in  sterling.  A  very  simple  calcu- 
lation, based  on  the  minimum  figures,  put  the  income 
tax  due  from  millionaires  at  ¥8, 700,000.  If  it  were 
assumed  that  this  amount  really  was  collected  from  these 
501  millionaires,  then  they  were  paying  25  per  cent,  of 
the  total  income  tax  of  the  country,  which  certainly 
appears  to  be  unreasonable.  This  led  to  further  in- 
vestigations by  the  press  sleuths,  and  the  publication 
of  the  income-tax  payments  of  some  of  the  most  promi- 
nent men  in  the  country.  Princes,  marquises,  and  counts, 
the  registered  proprietors  of  millions  were  found  to  be 
paying  paltry  sums  of  from  ¥50  to  ¥500  as  their  con- 
tribution to  the  Exchequer.  One  revered  Elder  States- 
man, whose  financial  genius  is  universally  acknowledged, 
and  who  has  made  himself  and  his  sons  very  rich  men, 
returned  ¥350.  As  the  press  took  very  good  care  to 
point  out,  what  was  wanted  was  not  so  much  a  readjust- 
ment of  the  income  tax  as  a  strict  enforcement  of  its 
terms  on  the  upper  classes.  But  how  difficult  such  an 
enforcement  is  in  a  country  "where  official  advancement 
is  mostly  due  to  patronage  and  rarely  due  to  merit  ! 

If  the  burden  of  taxation  and  its  methods  is  a  principal 


232  JAPAN    AT   THK   CROSS    ROADS 

cause  of  the  economic  crisis  the  laxity  of  official  account- 
ancy is  a  contributory  cause.  If  the  history  of  Kraft 
in  the  Meiji  Era  could  be  written,  I  think  that  the 
world  would  stand  aghast  at  its  magnitude.  It  is  the 
most  extraordinary  paradox  in  Japanese  affairs  that  a 
nation,  which  is  capable  of  the  marvellous  devotion  and 
self-sacrifice  which  the  Japanese  have  shown  at  various 
crises  of  their  history,  should  be  so  oblivious  to  any  regard 
for  honesty  in  dealing  with  public  funds.  Throughout 
the  Far  Kast  '  squeeze  '  is  a  part  of  every  transaction. 
In  China  this  has  been  so  much  the  case  that  the  late 
Count  Haya-hi  devoted  a  considerable  portion  of  his 
Memoirs  to  a  consideration  <>f  the  question,  and  came 
to  the  conclusion  that  commissions  in  China  must  be 
regarded  not  as  illegitimate  and  immoral,  but  as  a  regu- 
larized addition  to  salary.  Chinese  <itli<  ials  were  so  poorly 
paid  that  perquisites  were  a  recognized  medium  for  in- 
creasing th'-ir  ap{>ointrnents.  Although  the  Count 
acknowledged  the  commission  habit  to  be  a  custom  of 
the  neighbouring  country,  he  could  not  take  the  same 
view  of  similar  practices  in  Japan.  Nevertheless,  he 
was  quite  auarc  of  th"  prevalence  ot  the  habit  in  his 
own  country,  and  fcan-d  unhappy  consequences  from  it. 
It  is  very  dini' ult  to  t  s'imate  to  what  extent  a  sjmilar 
view  «f  the  prevalence  of  graft  in  Japan  should  be 
taken.  The  idea  that  publi  funds  afe  h"ld  and  expended 
Tinder  tru-t  for  th"  nation  is  comparatively  new.  I'ubhc 
funds  were  originally  r  -gardcd  as  lair  g;une  for  oi'iiciaU. 
and  th"  higher  th'-  rank  of  the  oiti  ial  the  lugger  the 
[Miking;-,  he  might  anticipate  from  his  tenure  of  otnce. 
J*ut  even  if  in  the  earl;/  day-  of  M.-i|i  commission  \\.n- 
a  more  or  !<•-->  ret  ogni/e  1  addition  to  salary,  -\\<  }\  a 
view  (ould  no;  po  i'.l',  hold  once  a  f<uiu  of  parliamentary 
g'o\ernm«-nt  had  b-  en  initiated  and  the  national  accounts 
wen-  MibmiHe  1  for  th«-  approval  of  a  national  a  embly. 

If      glalt       \'.a-          till      1"      be      the      pepjlli-ite      of       •   :,ite     Ilien       It 
\'.o',l!'l     be      lllljio       l'>\'-     to     iha'A      Up     c-MlUte.,      jieiaUsr     t||e 

relation    of    tip-    tun. I-    to    ;h-ir    purpose,    \\oaid    \ai\     in 
a<  '  oi'  laip  ••    with    ill'-    app<t;te    ol     the    olir  ia!  '    io;j(ein»d. 


FINANCE,    INDUSTRY,    AND   COMMKKCK     233 

Recent  disclosures  have  for  sonic  reason  given  the  out- 
side world  a  shock,  and  then:  is  a  distinct  tendency  to 
believe  that  Japan  is  degenerating.  There  is  really  no 
reason  for  such  a  belief,  which  is  in  reality  a  reaction 
due  to  the  fictitious  level  to  which  the  Japanese  character 
has  been  boomed  by  the  activities  of  the  Press  Bureau. 
If  the  world  is  constantly  having  it  dinned  into  its  ears 
that  Japan  is  an  earthly  paradise:  where  patriotism, 
honesty,  and  bravery  an:  rampant  and  vice  is  unknown, 
then,  when  the  world  hears  of  some  unsavoury  scandal, 
it  jumps  to  the  conclusion  that  the  barriers  of  virtue  have- 
been  broken  down,  and  that  wickedness  is  at  last  obtain- 
ing a  hardly  won  entry.  Now  graft  is  no  more  a  new 
crime  in  Japan  than  in  England,  where  an  awakened 
conscience  has  coined  a  new  name  for  an  old  offence. 
It  is  as  sure  that  graft  was  known  in  the  days  of  the 
Old  Testament  as  that  justice  was  bought  and  sold  in 
the  days  of  Queen  Bess.  That  Hiram,  King  of  Tyre, 
got  a  rake-off  on  the  cedar  logs  of  Lebanon  is  as  prob- 
able as  that  Francis  Bacon  received  ^40,000  from  the 
Goldsmiths  Company.  Japan  has  been  no  different  from 
other  countries.  Before  the  grant  of  the  Constitution  the 
administration,  oligarchic  and  uncontrolled,  asserted  to 
itself  the  right  of  saying  who  should  and  who  should  not 
be  privileged  to  supply  the  nation's  wants,  and  its  de- 
cisions in  most  cases  were  regulated  solely  according 
to  the  percentage  which  the  contractors  were  willing  to 
put  into  the  pockets  of  the  officials.  Since  the  Consti- 
tution matters  have  gone  a  little  further,  for  Japan  has 
adopted,  with  ,\V/estern  improvements,  also  that  organi/ed 
intimacy  between  privileged  business  and  politics  which 
is  so  prominent  a  canker  in  modern  civilization.  The 
subjection  of  the  legislation  to  private  rather  than  to 
public  interests  is  the  outstanding  feature  of  Japanese 
politics.  This,  added  to  the'  improper  relations  existing 
between  the  administration  and  the  markers  has  created 
a  feeling  of  pessimism  and  hopelessness,  which  would 
predicate  badly  for  the  future,  if  it  \\vre  not  that  below 
the  surface  there  are  unmistakable  signs  of  an  awakening 


234  JAl'AN    AT   THK   CROSS    ROADS 

sense  of  responsibility.  The  tendency  of  the  clay  towards 
internal  affairs  is  to  demand  and  to  obtain  facts.  Con- 
vention, though  still  strong",  is  becoming  less  and  less 
a  binder  on  the  truth. 

If  a  Minister  of  State  is  a  grafter  and  a  thief  his 
position  is  no  longer  recognized  as  a  reason  for  condoning 
his  offences.  The  public  money  is  the  money  of  the 
people,  paid  for  certain  definite  purposes,  of  which  the 
lining  of  offirial  pockets  is  not  one.  It  is  a  criminal 
offence  to  steal  that  money,  and  it  is  equally  a  crime 
to  knowingly  permit  such  theft. 

The  great  fortunes  of  Japan  can  be  grouped  under 
thre"  heads  the  honest,  the  near-hone-t,  and  the  frankly 
di-hone>t.  Among  the  first  come  the  great  landowners 
and  feudal  chiefs,  whose  vast  hereditary  domains  are 
the  ba-is  of  tin ir  wealth.  With  them,  too,  may  be 
ret  koned  tho>e  iiienhant  princes  \vhoM-  fortunes  ha\e 
been  amassed  by  labour  and  sagacity,  by  the  exploita- 
tion of  the  resources  of  the  country,  by  the  import  of 
raw  materials  and  by  manufactures.  ( )f  the  near-honest 
are  tli'is--  fmanc'er-.  uho-e  bank  accounts  have  Ix'en 
created  by  treading  the  Ixnmdaries  of  the  law,  by  water- 
ing stoek,  by  bulling  and  bearing  the  markets  through 
their  connection  with  officials,  and  by  their  manipulation 
of  scMin'ie-,  and  their  operations  on  the  exchanges. 
Amongst  ihe-e  are  many  who-e  fortunes  are  due  to  e\- 
(  es-'ive  tatiii  pio'ec'-on  ?oo  often  pa^-ed  (id  /i<>c,  or 
to  a  parru'ar  skill  in  m-lking  the  'I'n-a-ury  of  -ub-idies. 
Among-,!  the  third  (lass  are  iho-e  contractor^  and  ofticials 
who-e  balance-^  ha\'e  depended  ^-oleK  on  favours  received 
and  given,  wh'>>e  bri'x •-.  have  [irocured  orders,  and  \\ho~.e 
order-  have  been  exi  hanged  for  bribes.  1'he-e  owe  then- 
rank  and  Banding  -imply  and  ^olely  to  money  fiN  hed 
from  the  ]i'o].!e',  poi  krts  or  sloinachs,  and,  'unou^-ly 
enough,  the-,  <l;-j)'a\  an  ingenumi-  prid<-  in  the  -limne^ 
of  ih'-ir  dealing.  <  'I  tin  <  la  th--re  has  been  an  in<  reading 
devlofirn«-nt  uith  th--  \e,n-.  It  mu-t  be  admi't-'d  that 
ill'-  steadier  head,  of  the  louniry  are  iho-e  now  in  the 
g'ra\c  or  JM  -ing  into  retirement,  worn  out  by  the  nervous 


FINANCE,    INDUSTRY,    AND   (  OMMKKCK     235 

energy  of  creating  a  new  land.  The  younger  generation 
arc  too  often  amiably  incapable  or  incipiently  degenerate. 
The  struggle  to  live  is  far  more  severe,  and  money  is 
to  them  the  only  means  of  comfort,  let  alone  luxury. 
That  matters  will  right  themselves  in  the  end  I  do  not 
doubt,  but  it  cannot  be  denied  that  the  lack  of  a  national 
tradition  must  severely  handicap  a  country  which  has 
at  a  bound  reached  from  obscure  media-valism  to  up- 
to-date  modernity.  The  self-reliance  which  follows  a 
struggle  for  existence  is  lacking,  and  self-conceit  is  but 
a  [X)or  substitute.  A  nation  \vhose  Magna  Charta  is  a 
birthday  present  can  only  reali/e.  with  difficulty  the  mean- 
ing and  responsibilities  of  freedom.  A  sudden  transition 
from  Lockhart's  counter  to  the  Kit/  Hotel  would  upset 
the  steadiest  stomach.  A  people  which  jumps  from  the 
fifteenth  to  the  nineteenth  century  must  miss  the  prefatory 
but  most  necessary  developments  of  the  intervening  ages. 
Undoubtedly  corruption  is  rife  throughout  the  country  ; 
officials,  manufacturers,  merchants  are  mostly  grafters, 
not  by  nature  but  by  the  sequence  or  lack  of  sequence 
of  events.  I  believe  that  this  condition  is  due  not  so 
much  to  immorality  as  to  immorality.  Just  as  the  political 
system  is  rotten  because*  of  the  lack  of  education  in 
things  political,  so  lack  of  education  is  to  a  great  extent 
the  cause  of  trade  and  financial  immorality.  Education 
is  not  an  end  in  itself.  It  is  a  means  to  acquire  wisdom 
and  judgment.  It  is  these  latter  which  are  so  much 
wanted  in  Japan  now. 

The  absolute  disregard  of  the  sanctity  of  public  funds 
has  been  exemplified  so  otten  during  recent  years  that 
I  do  not  propose  to  otter  many  proofs.  The  Dai  Nippon 
Sugar  Scandal  was  an  illuminating  example  of  the  con- 
nection between  politics  and  bu-iness,  and  proved  clearly 
enough  that  Members  ot  Parliament  were  as  willing  to 
sell  their  own  votes  as  they  were  to  buy  those  of  their 
constituents.1 

The  Imperial  Household  Scandal  of  I  > n  4  was  par- 
ticularly noteworthy,  inasmuch  as  it  proved  that  even 
1  Uchara,  The  Political  Development  of  J.i^in. 


236  JAPAN    AT    TI1F    CROSS    ROADS 

the  propinquity  of  the  sovereign  and  tin-  semi -divine 
surroundings  of  tin-  palace  were  no  defence  against  the 
malversations  of  officials  or  tin-  intrigues  of  contractors. 
The  full  details  of  the  scandal  never  came  to  light, 
as  it  was  not  considered  proper  to  humiliate  by  a  public 
trial,  an  otii  i  il  >o  ni-ar  ih--  monarch  as  the  Minister 
of  the  Household.  The  alleged  facts  of  tiie  case  were  that 
the  Minister  of  the  Ilou-ehold,  Count  \\"atanabe,  and 
the  rx-Minister,  fount  T.maka,  were  charged  with  ha\  in:; 
received  a  commission  over  the  sale  of  the  Suma  Imperial 
Palace,  which  had  been  purchased  at  an  exorbitant  price 
on  behalf  of  the  Imperial  Ilou-ehold.  There  were  other 
charges  in  connection  with  contracts  for  work  at  the 
Imperial  Palaces.  On  the  day  of  the  d»-ath  of  the 
Empress -Do  wager,  the  Kmpcror  and  Empress  left  Tokyo 
hurriedly  for  the  death-bed  at  Numad/u.  Before  leaving 
a  council  was  hurriedly  held  at  the  Chiyoda  P.ilace  at 
four  (/clock  in  the  morning,  and  Count  \Vatanahe  resigned 
his  office  and  went  inkyo  (into  perpetual  retirement  i. 
resigning  the  headship  of  his  family.  Ins  orders  and 
decorations.  He  subsequently  attempted  to  commit 
suicide;.  Similar  action  followed  by  hi>  predecessor,  \\jth 
regard  to  whom  the  amu-ing  point  was  that  he  had 
only  a  year  prwiou  ly  obtained  damages  against  an  (  )  -aka 
newspaper,  whi-'h  had  accused  him  of  graft. 

The    Naval    Scaudal    ol     i  <;  i  4    proud    the    connection 
between  <  ontractors  and  govcrinii'-nt  oliiciaN.  and  demon 
strated  only   too   p!a:nl\    th"   Tiiana -T   in   uhi'h   orders   are 
obtained    by    dire  t    b;  i!>er\' . 

'I  hat  ^ratt  r-  a  commonplace  may  !>••  gathered  from 
the  ca-ual  mann«-r  m  win-  h  it  i^  di><  n-sed.  Bai^-n  dot.i. 
in  an  a<  conn!  ol  ih--  .idoptio'i  of  the  catn;»hor  monojmlv 
in  I'ormo-a,  desi  ijiie-,  th<-  (  omj.e;  ition  of  tin-  MM  in  and 
Yokohama  iitm  .  an<!  how  the  fnii--r  of  Me  T..  Sami:el 
Samuel  \"  <  o.  UM  .  a  i  •  p'ed.  I  hen,  lie  •- a \  -  :  "1  \\as 
aicu-ed  of  ha\in.;  it('-i\ed  oni'tiipig  fiom  Me-Ms. 
/•ani'iel  Sam1:'!  Jv  '  "o  ,  a:id  to  ha\e  .dio\\ed  thi-  Inm 
t(>  •  up  a  ;ii'  e  ou|','  a  :h'-  a\mg  1-.  But  thi>  \\  a  -. 
no l  r.  all  ,  the  <  a  e  !  "  A; ;ai!:,  la  onilm  t  ion  \\  ;ih  the 


FINANCE,    INDUSTRY,   AND   COMMERCE     237 

introduction  of  the  salt  monopoly,  "  I  was  accused  of 
having  associated  with  Oguri,  appointed  the  sole  agent 
for  the  sale  of  Formosan  salt,  with  dishonest  motives, 
but  it  was  not  so,  and  ( )guri  was,  I  believe,  almost 
reduced  to  bankruptcy  before  the  appointment  became 
valuable." 

In  these  reminiscences  Baron  Goto  tells  a  quite  amusing 
story  oi  administrative  methods.  Before  the  final  de- 
rision to  introduce  the  salt  monopoly  was  made  the 
late  General  Kodama,  the.  Governor-General  of  Formosa, 
called  a  meeting  of  all  the  high  officials  of  the  Govern- 
ment-General to  hear  their  opinions.  Kodama  addressed 
the  meeting  as  follows  :  "  I  have  invited  you  here  to- 
day to  ask  your  views  on  the  important  question  which 
the  Administration  has  been  considering,  namely,  the 
introduction  of  the  salt  monopoly  into  the  island.  As, 
however,  this  proposal  is  one  of  the  greatest  importance, 
it  is  of  no  value  to  debate;  it,  and  I  therefore,  by  the 
powers  vested  in  me,  declare  the  proposal  accepted  with- 
out opposition.  The  meeting  is  dissolved.  Good  morn- 
ing !  "  The  Baron  related  that  the  officials  were  not 
annoyed  at  the  arbitrary  action  of  the  Governor-General, 
but  were  extremely  irritated  at  having  to  turn  out  in 
the  heat  of  the  day  for  a  meeting  which  had  no  puq>ose. 

Anybody  who  turns  over  the  Japan  papers  will  find 
abundant  evidence  of  the  irregularities  in  the  semi-official 
and  other  financial  institutions.  The  case  of  the  Credit 
Mobilier  in  1912  and  1913  forms  an  adequate  example. 
1  have;  already  referred  to  the  money  lost  by  this  bank 
in  the  bogus  gold-mine  at  Ilasami,  during  the  Russian 
War.  The  bank  also  held  a  large  quantity  of  the  4 
per  cent.  Comer-ion  Bonds,  issued  by  Prince  Katsura 
in  1910.  These  bonds  had  been  issued  at  95,  and  the 
syndicated  banks  undertook  not  to  sell  them  at  less 
than  the  issue  price  during  a  conventional  period  termi- 
nating in  1912.  By  that  time  the  market  price  of 
the  lx)nds  had  fallen  to  .Sj,  and  dropped  a  further  three 
points  on  the  dissolution  of  the  syndicate,  so  that  on 
about  Y2O,ooo,ooo  face  value,  the  bank  dropped  some- 


238  JAPAN    AT   THE   CROSS   ROADS 

where  round  V 3,000.000,  making1  a  loss  on  gold-mines 
and  bonds  of  over  V 6, 000,000. 

'Hie  non-discovery  of  the  loss  was  due  to  the  issue  of 
a  false  bahuice  sheet  by  the  directors.  Obviously  the 
correct  thing'  to  do  was  to  appropriate  the  reserve 
(V  1, 40  l,ooo)  to  pay  the  loss,  and  write  off  capital  for 
the  rest.  No  !  Such  a  proceeding  would  have  meant 
a  loss  of  face,  and  as  it  W.LS  a  semi-official  institution,  the 
government  would  have  lost  face.  So  the  government 
changed  the  Directors,  but  even  then  did  not  give  them 
a  free  hand.  Mr.  Shidachi,  the  new  President,  wished 
to  appropriate  profits  until  tlie  loss  was  recovered,  even 
if  it  meant  some  years  without  a  dividend.  The  Finance 
Department  vetoed  this  scheme,  formed  another  syndicate 
to  lend  the  Credit  Mobilier  a  sum  of  VS. 000,000  at  low- 
interest,  and  limited  the  dividend  to  5  per  cent.  JKT 
;umum  until  such  time  as  the  losses  were  written  off.' 

The  Kitahama  Hank  Affair,  with  a  l»»s  of  YS, 000,000, 
is  another  failure  which  is  closely  connected  with  official 
finance,  and  the  4  per  rent.  Com  ei>ioii  Hoiuls.-  Inspec- 
tion of  banking  institutions  is  a  very  proper  measure, 
but  undue  intimacy  Ix-tuvcn  the  government  and  the 
credit  organs  can  only  be  severely  re-probated.  In  Japan 
the  government  have  <  reated  a  (ham  of  banks  in  the 
closest  touch  with  itself  fni"  the  sole  purposes  of  absorbing1 
official  paper  and  importing  foreign  money.  It  is  inter- 
'•stmg  to  note  that  Prince  KatMira  in  i  <;  1 4  intended  to 
appoint  the  Pre>id«-nt  of  this  bank  to  be  President  of 
the  Hank  of  japan. 

<  )ne  of  the  mo^t  amusing'  instances  of  high  finance 
vJii'  li  I  <  anie  across  \\.is  \\heii  one  of  the  [>io\i!uial 

1  The  Mmi-.trr  of  JtMirr,  I  h  ,  <  )kiid.i,  in  .uiNwn  ti  >  .1  <|ur>'i<  -M  in  the 
I  );i  t  dii  J.  i :  ni.it  v  .'').  1 1)  i  },  ^.ud  the  I  Mi  i  IT  .  i  ,  !i.  id  lu-i  MI  s^mlt  v  i  >t  i--  iiinij 
.1  i  i  .i'.;i  lull  :it  I'.il.HH.c  -!:<  d ,  1 'ut  thm  pi  i  •  '  culi<  •!)  \vi>nM  h.ivr  <  .iii-^cd 

:  DC'  'IT.  r!:lrln_  c,   .1    Mj'lv    \V!;li!l     I:;'    .11:  i  pllllf.  1    on    J.iliu.lIV     ',  1  >t    t'\       .i\!|p.; 

l!:.it    p;  <i  .»•<  :itiii:i    !..ul    ii>  it    hern    i;:ult  i  I  .ii,(  n    !><•.. iu  c    ot     tin     .tdviiM- 

l.'ili'.HMI'   i:       t!u;       )>:•.    cxu!l"!l      i-l        Mii.il       lllljll      iitllCl.ll,       Wolilil      il.tvr       III 

<  (.'  -n    :nu:  i  in  !>•  . 

'  Ii;i-  I'n  i'l'  ;;t  .iM'i  .ill  !lic  li-.i'Iin;1,  i'flici:»N  i 'f  this  l).uik  were 
<ur«-.ti(l  in  i<>i.|  "ii  ch.ni'.t-,  «if  fi.iud  .iiul  t  :n!n  v/lc  UK  lit. 


FINANCK,   INDUSTRY,   AND   COMMERCE     239 

semi-official  banks  wanted  to  issue  delx-ntures  in  London. 
The  representative  of  the  English  group  went  down  to 
investigate  the  projxjsal,  and  found  tlie  hooks  in  apparently 
good  order.  He  inquired  as  to  the  location  of  the  reserve 
fund  of  over  a  million  yen,  and  was  informed  that  it  was 
invested  at  X  JXT  cent,  interest. 

Further  inquiry  revealed  that  it  had  been  lent  to  tin- 
son  of  the  President,  who  had  given  as  security  a  //as/  obit 
on  his  father's  life  1 

The  following  table  gives  the  progress  of  Japanese 
trade  between  1903  and  1913. 


Yen  Yen 

Imports    ...............  317.1.0.51*  72lM3i.<M4 

IVi  capita    ......           6.79  I3-77 

Kxports    ...............  ^9,51)2,4  2  2  632,460,  iS^ 

I'cr  capita    ......           0.  19  1  1.1)4 

Total     ..................  6o6/>37,9cx^  1,361,891,857 

I'cr  capita    ......          12.98  25.71 

The  future  of  Japanese  industry  and  commerce  is  one 
of  the  most  interesting'  problems  at  present  before  the 
world,  and  it  must  be  admitted  that  it  has  given  rise 
to  considerable  disquietude  in  foreign  circles.  Japanese 
ambition  is  to  obtain  commercial  predominance  in  the 
East,  and  if,  in  doing  so,  she  can  capture  a  slice  of 
the  trade  of  the  West  all  the  better.  Against  this  ambition 
no  objection  whatsoever  can  be  raised  ;  it  is  a  legiti- 
mate aspiration,  and  a  good  portent  of  the  virility  of 
the  nation.  How  far  Japan  has  advanced  towards  her 
goal  may  be;  gathered  in  part  from  the  table  on 
page  240. 

Japan  has,  therefore,  in  ten  years  developed  her  Asiatic 
exports  two  and  a  half  limes.  In  the  >ame  period  her 
exports  to  Europe  have  doubled,  whilst  those  to  America 
are  two  and  a  third  times  as  great.  There  can  be  no 
denying  the  enormous  progress  which  must  have  been 
made  in  Japan  itself  to  produce  such  results.  That 
imports  h?vc  more"  than  doubled  -luring  the  same-  period 


24o  JAPAN    AT   THE    CROSS    ROADS 

is  a  necessary  corollary,  for  Japan  has  but  few  natural 
sources  of  wealth,  and  lack  of  raw  material  i->  one  of 
the  handicaps  to  industrial  advancement. 

KXPOKTS   TO    VARIOUS   COUNTRIES 

ic/>3  ic;i3 

Yen  Yen 


Hi.niiLuii^  ...............  2c>.724/<>4  33/'-'-  ('7-s 

Hiiti-h   India  ............  S.oSoj.j*  2^73,414 

K<TC.I  .....................  1  1,701  ,.}<>4  4o,42«>,c>55 

Straits  Settlements  ...  7.10.^.701  10,141.55.^ 

Asiatic  Ru.s-ia    .........  2.2V),<;^7  4,271.413 

French  Indo  China  ...  i'>7-775  i-()Svi<M 

I)utcii  Indies     .........  i)U..jn;  5.i.}'V>No 

Philippines     ............  I/l75-5i<j  ''i-iS3o50 


JJefore  c-on^idrrin:;  the  method^  by  which  Japan's  com- 
mercial rxpan-ion  ha->  been  achieved  it  will  l>e  advisable 
slujrtly  to  consider  the  n-Ialion-,  with  her  three  principal 
markets,  Aiii'-ii*  a,  China,  and  C.reat  Britain. 

As  I  havi:  jMjintrd  out  in  the  chapter  on  Foreii^n 
I'ohcy,  th<-  poliii*  al  rclatujns  bet\vcm  America  and  Japan 
have  be«  n  at  ten-ion  lor  >orne  years.  Although  there 
have  bren  moments  m  tlir  p.i-t  when  the  belli'  i^e  clans 
mi^ht  lia\'e  \\i-lied  to  try  their  lu<  k  in  the  lit  Id,  tlu-re 
is  no  r<  a-on  to  b«-li'-ve  that  tlu-re  is  a  general  feeling 
in  Japan  towards  war.  That  tin-re  is  a  strong  under- 
<  uncut  a;'a!ii-t  Anirina  is  v<-ry  true,  and  this  cjlten 
^weil^  to  ihr<-at'-nin.;'  limi:-,  but  no  statr-man  in  his  SLUM'S 
(ould  dr«-am  ol  \\ar,  lor  Anii-riia  di>li:ictl\  hohN  the 
uhip  hand.  At  pre-'-nt,  and  f«ii  many  \ears  to  come. 
that  country  is  and  \\iil  b--  Japan's  mo-t  important  trade 
ionne't:on.  Two  ol  Japan'-  mo-t  impoit.mt  indu  -tries 
ai«-  jua  ti'ail',  jiionoj  >•  >]  \/>  •  \  \>\  the  American  maik't,  and 
OIK-  oi  t!i-  m  i-  a  luxury,  !'*r  whi'  h  the  demand  \\ould 
j;ieat!v  diiiiini  !i  m  urn--  ol  -trc---,  fapan  liij>-  annually 
to  Amelia  two-third  ^  ol  h--r  raw  --ilk  and  lour-lilthb 

'    I;.ir;d:n;'    Kw.iatlllii'   I'l'VKin-   . 


F1NANCK,    INDUSTRY,    AND    COMMERCE     24 1 

of  her  tea  crop,  which,  with  other  items,  make  a  total 
of  one  hundred  and  eighty  million  yen  per  annum.  \Var 
with  America  would  throw  idle  halt  a  million  ^i!k  weavers, 
would  ruin  hundreds  of  thousands  of  sericulturists  and 
tea-j)lanters.  ( )n  the  other  side  of  the  account  al-o 
Japan  would  stiller,  not  America.  .America  ship-,  to  Japan 
every  year  goods  to  the  value  of  Y  i  2  5,000,000,  of  whi<  h 
raw  cotton  represent-,  sixty-four  millions,  or  25  per  cent, 
of  the-  total  import,  ra'her  more  man  halt'  of  the  petroleum 
import,  and  nearly  hall  ol  the  imports  ot  machinery 
and  metal  manufacture'-.  It  would  not  he  exaggerating 
to  say  that  stoppage  of  trade  with  America  would  spell 
ruin  for  Japan. 

As  regards  China,  the  total  imports  are  ninety-two 
million  yen  (including  Kwantung  Province,  which,  though 
Japanese  terriiory,  is  commercially  only  a  -hipping  di->- 
irict  for  Manchuria).  The  export-;  to  China  arc  one 
hundred  and  eighty-live  million  yen,  or  double  the-  im- 
jx)rts.  China  is  becoming  Japan's  greatest  market,  and 
from  her  Japan  draws  great  quantities  of  raw  material. 
In  geographical  propinquity  no  country  is  better  situated 
than  Japan  to  exploit  the  China  market.  In  many  other 
ways  Japan  possesses  advantages  no  other  nation  can 
boast,  but  it  remains  to  be.  seen  to  what  extent  she,  has 
discounted  those  advantages  by  an  aggre-sive  diplomacy. 
Politically,  without  doubt,  Japan  i  >  hated  in  and  by 
China,  but  that  will  in  no  way  ailect  her  determination 
to  achieve  predominance  in  that  country.  '1  he  late  Mr. 
Mid/uno,  Councillor  of  Legation  at  IVkin,  in  the  only 
conversation  1  had  with  bun,  laid  great  stress  on  tin: 
commercial  ambitions  o!  Japan  in  China,  but  ho  ?ul- 
mitted  that  tho.e  ambitions  could  only  be  ruhilled  by  a 
break  "with  (In  at  !>:i:ain,  h-T  ally.  i  remember  quite 
well  his  comical  smile  as  he  said  :  "It  we  become  pre- 
dominant in  the  Yang-t-e,  we  will  be  so  unpopular  in 
London."  Japan  regards  (iivat  IJritain  as  a  political 
and  not  as  a  commercial  ally.  It  they  can  cut  our 
mercantile  throat  i.i  China,  they  will  do  \\  wi:h  th_-  greater 
pleasure  and  pride. 


242  JAPAN    AT    THE   CROSS    ROADS 

Great  Britain  and  her  colonies  still  remain  a  most 
important  factor  in  Japanese  commercial  development. 

Exports  and  imports  between  Japan  and  territories  under 
the  Union  Jack  are  :  — 

Kxportb  Imp.'it". 

Yen  Ym 

Hongkong 33 ,02 1,07*  i, :>«>.;. 7}'i 

Straits  Settlements   ...     io,i.p,:;vS  5,20^,01.4 

(ireat  Britain 3-,^*>/>57  i--,7V>.*7(> 

British  America    ^.oi^o.oiS  i,Sv;.4^' 

Australia     ^'>37.(>7-4  M.'H.v '4.S 

Cape  Colony 474-''-5  45o<>5 

Kjiypt 1.37'. "2  7.»43.">5 

British  India 2()>73,4i4  17  vi7;,,.soi 

Yi  22. 3 1 0.33'.  Y;>jf..;vsi,<,55 

The  whole  of  the  imports  from  British  India  consist 
of  raw  cotton,  rice,  ll.tx,  and  oil-take.  K^ypt  supplies 
raw  cotton,  Australia  wool  and  live-stock,  the  Straits 
rubber  and  tin,  and  (ireat  Brit. tin  wool,  iron,  rails,  steel, 
machinery,  ships,  and  Manchester  t^ood-.  Japan  sends 
rice  and  tea  to  Canada,  T7iarine  products,  coal,  cotton 
goods,  fibres,  and  matches  to  Ilon^kon--,  camphor,  silks, 
cotton  iM»ods,  and  coal  to  India,  copper.  sj!k  habutai, 
and  {M>ri  clam  to  (ircat  Britain.  If  e\cr  a  country  was 
dependent  on  the  An^lo-Saxon  rai'o  for  e\i-ten(<-  Japan 
is.  If  .America  and  (ireat  Britain  \\cre  to  break  oil 
commercial  relation-  with  lapan  that  country  \\ould  be 
(oiuerted  almo-t  instantaneou  \\~  into  a  hu^e  \\oikhou-e. 
And  this  not  only  from  the  rea-.on  that  they  are  lar^e 
<u-toinei>,  but  from  the  t,n-i  thai  thev  <on;:-ol  the  -ources 
of  r.iw  material  0:1  whi  h  fapan-'-e  indu-trv  i-  bmh  ii]>. 
\\'h'-r(i  would  <  )  -aka  be  u  ithoui  tli--  <  ot;<  >n  of  Am«-i  K  a  and 
India  and  Br.idtoid  ai.d  Australian  \\ool ?  II<-w«ould  the 
M it'ii  Bi-hi.  tlr-  Kawa-aki.  or  th--  nuni'ioti^  en.  i::ee["m^ 
•-hop-  of  Ko'ie.  Moji.  and  rl.s.  u  here  exist  uitlio-;;  the  im- 
ports from  <i!'.i'  B:i'ai:i  and  Ani-riia?  AI;d  \'.h  n-  \\ould 
Jaj'ane  ••  nidi:  try  be  to  day  uithou:  Bnti  h  •  a;  ii.ilV  That 
i.  the  mo,t  paiadoxi-  il  «t  all  thin.;-  in  th--  lar  I.a-(. 
\V|i-  are.  leiidin;;  Japan  money  at  from  .} '.  to  ,S  per 


'FINANCE,    INDUSTRY,   AND   COMMKRCK     243 

cent,  interest,  to  drive  our  own  trade  out  of  China  and 
India.  At  the  end  of  the  present  war  one  of  the  problems 
to  be  fared  will  !*•  whether  we  can  continue  such  a 
jxjlicy.  In  saying  this  I  do  not  deny  that  this  policy 
lias  been  profitable  to  us  in  the  extreme  in  the  past, 
but  the  war  is  going  to  alter  many  things,  and  not 
least  of  all  the  terrific  financing  which  it  necessitates 
will  result,  and  has  already  resulted,  in  the  liquidation 
of  many  foreign  investments,  and  a  <  on-cquent  decrease 
in  the  invisible  income  of  the  country. 

The  "  Yellow  Peril  "  is  a  favourite  theme  for  political 
writers,  and  to  a  certain  extent  it  is  capable  of  fulfilment. 
It  may,  however,  be  conveniently  divided  under  two  heads, 
jx>litical  and  commercial,  and  it  is  the  latter  with  which 
we  are  concerned  in  this  chapter.  The  advancement 
of  Japanese  trade  in  China  gave  rise  to  a  feeling  of 
trepidation  amongst  European  thinkers  that  Western 
commerce  was  fated  to  be  expelled  from  China  by 
Japanese  competition.  It  is  to  be  admitted  that  there 
were  superficial  reasons  for  that  belief.  I  do  not  think, 
however,  that  at  present,  at  any  rate,  the  reasons  are 
more  than  superficial.  Equally  I  do  not  believe  that 
Japan  normally  can  be  a  commercial  rival  of  unusual 
strength.  Fifteen  or  twenty  years  ago  if  Japan  had 
devoted  herself  to  commercial  expansion,  and  eschewed 
political  aggression,  things  might  have  been  very  different. 
Japanese  commerce  would  have  developed  much  faster 
than  it  has  done,  and  she  would  have  retained  all  the 
immense  advantages  of  cheap  labour  which  she  then 
possessed.  Cheap  money,  cheap  labour,  and  a  ready- 
made  market  would  have  enabled  her  to  rise  in  an  extra- 
ordinarily short  time  to  be  the  commercial  autocrat  of 
the  Far  East. 

The  most  dangerous  point  about  Japanese  competition 
is  its  official  character,  a  point  which'  our  supermen  in 
Downing  Street,  studying  affairs  in  the  intervals  of  dozing, 
rarely  get  sufficiently  far  with  their  reading  to  realize. 
British  trade  is  not  only  up  against  Japanese  trade,  but 
also  against  the  Japanese  Government  and  the  whole 


244  JAPAN    AT    THK    CROSS    ROADS 

Japanese  nation.  If  1  dare  to  critici/e  Briti-h  officialdom 
in  its  relation  f>  trade,  it  is  because  I  have  had  twelve 
years'  ex{>eri(/nce  of  it  in  various  part-  of  the  world. 
and  have  had  innumerable  example-  of  its  cra-s  ignor- 
ance and  brutal  stupidity  in  all  that  appertains  t<>  com- 
merce anil  industry.  A-  1  write  I  have  a  letter  before 
me  from  a  British  Coiisul-(  ii-ncral,  -in<  e  retired,  in  which 
he  says  :  "  For  year-  I  \vept  bitterness  over  the  ways 
of  I  )o\vnin;^  Street,  but  now  1  nvo^ni/e  the  trirdi.  Ilon-'iir 
thy  Consul  -(iciicral  and  the  Hoard  of  Trade,  and  \\hen 
thy  day  come-,  thoii  -halt  be  a-  lit  a  recipient  of  a 
decoration  and  a-  ta-ty  enough  a  mor--l  for  the  worm-. 
as  any."  Japanese  individuals  an<l  ja|  ane-e  eorporation^ 
are  only  the  outward  and  vi>i!>l<'  >ix"n->  <»f  the  eft'oru  of 
the  State  to  or^ani/e  and  control  all  commerce  and 
indu-try  in  the  Kar  Ma>t. 

It  can  be  .-aid,  with  ab-olute  truth,  that  not  a  -ilk- 
worm  is  fed,  not  a  -hovel  i->  di^ed.  not  a  -[)ind!e  re- 
volved. or  a  -!;!;i  load  •«!  without  th"  e\rl:i  it  care  and 
advic'-  of  the  Tok\'o  authorities,  jt  money  is  reijiiired 
on  ea-y  tenn>  for  for.-i^n  tra  !••.  the  \"okohama  Speeie 
I'.ank  lias  a  -j)---  ial  fund  trom  ;h  •  ;.'o\crnment  (Or  this 
jiurpo-e.  It  >hij)s  are  recjuired  to  compete  with  her 
alh-  •-.  th  •  ;,o\  ,  rn:::ent  -ub-idi'e-  iheir  buildi:,:;  and 
runmi:;^".  If  a  IK  w  :ndu  ti\  i-  to  be  -;a't'd.  'he  i;o\ern- 
ni'-ri!  \\'i!I  ,^i\'e  a  ^:ant-ii:-aid  and  penal;/'-  \»r>  i  ;:i  com- 
petitor-. It  expotti  fall  i.eloU'  -ample,  \\\<-  aUlho-'iHe, 
impo-  •  an  in  •])••<  i.on  >'  h'-ine.  It  manuka-  turei  -  \\.mt  to 
u-'-  trad--  -ei  ret-  from  abroad,  ^./vernnn-nt  student-  are 
-<-nt  to  1-  arn  t!:e!n.  Tli"  Im'-rial  HOP.  eh.i!-'  iak<--  an 


a-  ti\--    ntere  t    n  ,-,  .mnj.-j,  .a 


••h.i'vhold'-r  1:1  ma:r.  oi  t:, ••  m  >,;  i 
lap. i': .  I  h  iv--  a':tl.<  >:  iiy  '<  >r  ta'i 
inv--  -tin-  n'  i::  i'ldu  t  •  ;al  an- !  .  •  >JM:C 
(C-'d  three  a;:d  a  h  i!f  midi-.n 

I  h-  1  xtent  '  it  ,-•  rverm.M'  :.t  :?.'e:  te 
'  online:  i  i  i  i  j':i''  e\*  i  ao:  •  liuar  1  M 
to:-  /:.  v:  ;'or  1  ;-.,i-.,  :.r  l.r.o;:! 


FINANCE,    INDUSTRY,   AND   COMMERCE     245 

the  government.  The  heavy  tariff  is  a  bonus  to  manu- 
facturers ;  subsidies  to  shipbuilders,  steamship  corpora- 
tions, export  societies,  and  emigration  companies  are  well 
recognized  forms  of  encouragement  ;  in  certain  export 
trade's  specific  bounties  are  paid,  and  rebates  offered 
on  goods  shipped  in  Japanese  bottoms  and  over  Japanese 
lines.  In  addition  there  are  a  number  of  heavily  capi- 
tali/cd  and  mismanaged  government  factories  which 
seldom  secure  a  profit,  and  the  annual  appropriations  for 
which  are  to  oner  a  deficit.  Further  there  are  a 
host  of  semi-oflicial  concerns  receiving  financial  aid  from 
the  Budget,  ,-uid  which  together  form  a  very  serious 
burden  on  the  taxpayer.  To  make  matters  worse  the 
government,  now  presided  over  by  Count  Okuma,  has 
gone  a  step  further  in  adopting  measures  for  interference 
in  the  rice  and  silk  markets,  when  the  prices  of  those 
commodities  fall,  measures  so  plainly  calculated  to  pander 
to  the  agricultural  classes  for  vote-catching  as  not  to 
require  discussion.  That  Count  Okuma,  the  democratic 
hero,  should  adopt  measures  which  perpetuate  the  misery 
of  the  working  classes,  and  deliberately  play  into  the 
hands  of  the  banks  and  rings,  which  have  for  years 
been  cornering  the  foo.l  supplies  is  a  striking  commentary 
on  the  real  views  of  that  eminent  orator.  State-aided 
industry  is  one  of  the  great  clangers  of  Japanese  compe- 
tition, but,  as  I  have-  said,  one  of  its  weaknesses.  It 
creates  an  atmosphere-  of  prosperity,  which  is  very  often 
not  justified  by  the  facts.  One  day  popular  pressure  will 
insist  on  the1  withdrawal  of  the  government  aid.  and  the 
Japanese  bogey  will  fade  away  to  its  proper  perspective. 
Japanese  industry  is  peculiarly  interesting  inasmuch 
as  it  is  represented  by  the  modern  factory  system  and 
the  handicraft  system,  which  has  vani^lvd  in  England, 
(iermany,  and  Am  'rica.  Japan  i>  or.e  of  the  few  countries 
where  the  two  can  be  seen  working  si  le  by  side.  In 
Kyoto  you  ma\  sec*  the  oKler  phase  still  in  full  swing, 
turning  out  excellent  work  of  high  artistic,  and  intrinsic 
value.  You  may  then  train  an  hour  to  U-aka.  and  see 
the  modern  factories  competing  with  those  of  Manchester 


246  JAPAN   AT  THE   CROSS   ROADS 

and  Massachusetts  for  the  markets  of  the  Kast.  Both 
systems  are  allied  with  the  government.  The  older,  the 
handicraft,  is  controlled  by  guilds,  the  latter  by  sub- 
sidies. tariffs,  and  the  other  eccentricities  of  modern 
indu-tri.ilism. 

The  guilds  are  an  imjx>rtant  feature  of  Japanese  ><»ciety. 
For  fuller  details  of  them  the  reader  may  refer  to  the 
rejK>rts  of  '  The  Asiatic  Society  of  Japan,'  and  to  the 
work  of  Mr.  C.  V.  Sale  and  others.  Their  power  is  very 
great,  for  it  is  fixed  by  legislation.  They  may  even 
enforce  membership  amongst  traders.  In  1^1  I  they  were 
|VS°°3  m  number,  covering  sales  purchases,  credit,  and 
production.  Their  funds,  founded  on  membership  fees, 
are  increased  by  treasury  grants,  the  <juid(s)  pro  (/no 
for  agreement  with  a  policy  laid  down  by  the  authori- 
ties. In  19,13  the  local  ;^o\ernments  spmt  Y  i  1,240.072 
in  encouragement  grants  for  industry  and  agriculture, 
and  the  following  table  for  I  <;  i  3  shows  the  rise  in  the 
index  number  of  these  grants  <|X<;5  100). 


(  )rditi:irv  A 
(.'"<;  i  ><>n->  mid  Silk 
IV.t 
M.i;  IMC  l'i  i  'din  t^ 


I''i  >i  c-trv  anil  Mi!ii 
I  n  (  I  u  1  1  •  v 


Shows 

K'i-j»  :  t^  .iiul  St.  ill  -!:• 


All  O\<T  ill'-  '  ouiitrv  S.unpl ••  M u  eunis  h.i\i-  bei-n  c-t,il>- 
ii  IK,"!,  arid  are  k»-j»t  ihoioi:;-hK  up-to-da'e.  and  bulli-tin^ 
(  onv\  in:;  very  nnnut'-  iiiloi  nuin  m  o|  tin-  i<-'  j'.in*  incuts 
of  lorci_.;n  in.nk'-t-  an-  i  in  ulated  rvrry  d.r,  . 

'1  In-  l.i'foi.  -\-fi-ni  In-,  ot  cmnsr,  liccn  ,i  modern 
iriuo\Mt  i'  in,  bu!  there  .ue  ;n.in\  null-  and  '-!i'»p>  uln«h 
will  i  onip.ire  mo  t  l.i\  M\iia'''l>  uiili  .ins  in  Kuiopc  .md 


FINANCE,   INDUSTRY,   AND  COMMERCE     24; 

America,  though  as  a  general  rule  the  Japanese  factories 
leave  very  much  to  be  desired,  especially  in  the  con- 
ditions of  female  labour.  In  March,  1911,  the  Diet 
passed  a  Factory  Law  to  regulate  the  conditions  of  em- 
ployment, but  at  the  date  of  writing  nothing  has  lx_*en 
done  to  put  the  provisions  of  tin-  law  into  effect.  The 
reason  for  this  delay  is  alleged  to  be  the  lack  of  money, 
but  is  more  likely  to  lx-  the  opposition  of  a  very  large: 
and  strong  group  of  capitalists,  who  prefer  cheap  and 
sweated  labour,  and  the  conditions  of  a  pigstye  to  inspec- 
tion and  regulation,  and  the  accordance  to  their  hands 
of  permission  to  live  and  -work  in  some  semblance  to 
decency.  The  Japanese  are  notoriously  lacking  in 
common  sense,  and  the  attitude  of  employers  towards 
labour,  and  of  the  government  towards  the  labour  problem 
is  abundant  proof  of  mental  myopia.  Dr.  Abe  Isoo, 
Professor  at  .\Vaseda  University,  writing  in  the  Taiyo 
in  April,  1914,  said  :— 

"  After  repeated  postponements  the  Factory  Law  Bill 
was  introduced  to  the  Diet  in  1911.  It  was  duly  passed, 
but  its  coming  into  operation  has  been  deferred  pending 
the  necessary  preliminaries.  Some  time  ago  it  was  re- 
ported that  the  government  had  decided  to  put  the  law 
into  operation  from  1915,  and  the  news  was  received 
with  much  satisfaction  by  those  who  are  interested  in 
the  labour  question.  They  were,  however,  greatly  dis- 
appointed by  an  official  announcement  towards  the  end 
of  last  year  that  the  operation  of  the  law  has  been 
indefinitely  postponed. 

"  .The  object  of  a  Factory  Law,  needless  to  say,  is 
the  protection  of  factory  workers  in  general,  and  women 
and  children  in  particular,  by  effecting  an  improvement 
in  the  conditions  under  which  they  are  employed. 
Japanese  capitalists,  however,  regard  the  Factory  Law 
as  a  terrible  bugbear  that  must  be  kept  at  bay  at  all 
cost.  They  think  that  a  shortening  of  working  hours 
will  result  in  a  reduction  of  output,  and  that  any  ameliora- 
tion in  the  treatment  of  workers  means  a  lot  of  expendi- 
ture. They  do  not  understand  that  improved  working 


248  JAPAN    AT   THK   CROSS    ROADS 

conditions  nu-ans  increased  production,  a>  has  been 
demonstrated  in  Kumpe  and  America.  The  capitalists, 
as  a  roult  of  their  strenuous  elYorts,  introdui ed  >uch 
sweeping  alterations  in  the  J'ill  as  have  made  the 
[apane-e  Factory  Law  the  mo-t  imperfect  legislation  of 
its  kind  in  the  world.  St:li.  we  waited  for  the  early 
operation  of  the  l.iw,  -jn<  e  a  little  improvement  was 
better  than  none  at  all.  Our  hope-,  however,  have  been 
shattered  by  the  indefinite  postponement  of  the  operation 
of  the  law." 

The     Proles-or    adds    nur.e    in;cresiin::    comment.-    on 
Japanese  character,    a-    !o;lo\\  -  :    - 

'  Japanes  •  people,  a-  well  as  the  in>vernmeiit,  seem 
to  be  under  the  misapprehension  that  a  restriction  ot 
working  hours  would  roult  in  decrva-ed  production.  It 
i>  a  characteristic  peculiar  to  children  and  the  ignorant 
to  place  more  important-  to  quantity  ilian  to  quality. 
Tins  tr.iit  is  discernible  in  every  walk  of  a<  live  life 
in  tl)is  country.  In  government  office-^  ami  pnldie 
companies  j;  ;s  u-ual  to  ^pen-i  i:o:n  ei;Jit  to  nine  hours 
upon  woik  thai  conl-i  be  done  in  Ir/e  or  MX.  I'eojile 
are  reijtn're  1  to  a'te!pi  otiii c  promptly  at  a  certain  hour, 
and  to  Icav-  at  a  c'-rtam  hour,  though  t\\'o  or  three  ot 
ill--  inter1,  e'-iii;  hou:  -  mav  '  ><•  ua-t<  i  in  -niokin:;  and 
reading.  1  h ••  amoun:  <•!  \\ork  done,  cr  the  <ji:a!ii\  ot  it, 
i>  not  taken  ii.to  con  idera'.ion.  '1  If  -aiif  i-  ;he  c.tse 
v.itli  -<!  hool  f'in<  it  ion .  'i'h--rc  i>  no  l'mver-it\  in  the 
\\oild  wliere  f!:ir»y  ho':r  a  \s  -ek  i-  devoted  !<»  le--on- 
•.Mv',!..;.  ill--  -  iioo.s.  a-  \\  i  1  i  a-  -!;:de!it-,  ;,i\e  mote 
importance  \<,  ijuantitv  ilian  ijtiaiif.-.  t::  1  ^o  the\  i;i\-e 
and  ii  tin  to  more  !••<  tnre-  than  -;,;,!,.,;,  ,  .m  jMi-,-ibl\ 
di;.;e  t.  I  he  priirnoter^  oj  politi'  ..I  meet  in;.;-'  are  a'-o 
winded  1 .;,  ;hi-  principle.  (  »ne  nr  i\'.o  \  .  ak.  i  ..  lio\\ - 
•  ,  er  \\e''l  l;ni.u.i  ;'.  .  ni.r  lie,  \\.11  no;  !»e  •-ulii'  lent  to 
i1 1 1  a  t  a  1  ir.'f  .  >',\  ]  ;•-:,  •.  o  a  I  in;,  i ;  !  «l  <:  '  »t:d  or 
third-c!a  >  m-  n  i -.  ;h  plot"  ad\  ifi  <<i,  'A;'h  ti"1  icMill 
?!ia'.  the  ui  Ti:;  ;  i  :i'<-  to  )••  'hfon  ;e  I.  J  h"  lapaif  e 
j  -i  •  t  •  P  li'  '•  I'H  i  j";a!:' !'  >  I  it  h  :  '  a, in  -  j' :  i  '  i'  '•  I  a;  j  /a  1 1  nt 

il     le     .1        e!    eV,  hep;. 


FINANCE,    INDUSTRY,   AND   COMMERCE     249 

'  The  theatre  may  he  cited  as  another  example.  True, 
theatrical  performances  nowadays  do  not  last  so  long 
as  they  used  to  ;  still,  a  perfonnanee  continues  for  six 
or  seven  hours  at  a  stretch,  otherwise  the  audience  is  not 
satisfied.  These  arc  only  a  few  examples  showing  how 
much  importance  the  people  atlach  to  quantity  rather 
than  quality.  The  same,  tendency  is  evident  in  every 
sphere  of  national  life. 

"  Working  hour-,  and  tlie  amount  of  production  will 
no  doulit  keep  pace  up  to  a  certain  point,  hut  beyond 
this  all  proportion  is  lost.  It  is  therefore  a  mistake  to 
think  that  long  hours  result  in  the  turning  out  of  a 
proportionally  larger  amount  of  work.  There  are  several 
instances  where  the  shortening  ot  working  hours  has 
actually  resulted  in  a  larger  output.  It  is  evident  that 
si\ty-si\-  hours  work  a  week  for  children  under  fifteen 
years  is  too  severe  a  strain,  and  it  is  certain  that  employers 
could  obtain  better  results  by  a  curtailment  of  working 
hours. 

"  The  life  of  mill  operatives  in  the  factory  quarters 
demands  immediate  and  thorough  improvement.  Japanese 
factory  workers  are  living  under  conditions  which  are 
interior  to  those  of  slaves  in  certain  respects.  Slaves 
had  at  least  a  guarantc  •  ot  living,  which  the  present- 
day  worker  lacks.  As  long  as  he  or  she  is  able  to, 
\\ork  is  exacted  lo  the  utmost  limit,  as  one  gets  money's 
worth  out  of  a  hired  horse.  But  the  instant  the  worker 
breaks  down,  owing  to  overwork,  merciless  eviction 
follows.  In  fact,  factory  hands  are  treated  worse  than 
ber.sts  of  burden.  Farmers  treat  their  animals  with  care 
and  sympathy,  because  it  is  to  their  interest  to  do  so. 
It  is  not  so,  however,  with  the  factory  owners.  They 
work  their  employes  as  hard  as  they  can,  and  ii  they 
drop  dead  or  are  incapacitated  their  place  can  easily 
be  ti'led  by  new-comers.1  Fmp!o\<.-rs.  therefore,  do  not 
lind  it  essential  to  shorten  iv.'iirs  ot  work  or  pav  attention 

'  YVii.iti.-Yer  bnst:Ltj  ir.ay  !-r  in  military  at'fairs,  it  i-  cc:  ;.ii;i!y  nut 
carried  into  busin^-  or  imlustrv.  The  Factory  Law  was  promul- 
gated in  1915,  ami  is  now  more  or  k>-  in  operation. 


250  JAPAN    AT   THE   CROSS   ROADS 

to  the  moral  and  physical  well-being  of  their  employes. 
I'nless  an  amelioration  be  introduced  to  the  existing 
state  of  affairs  by  the  operation  of  the  Factory  Law, 
a  serious  crisis  will  be  brought  about  in  the  industrial 
world."  ' 

At  present  the  employment  of  children  under  twelve 
years  ot  age  is  common,  and  they  have  to  work  for 
fourteen  or  fifteen  hour-*,  and  art-  in  many  cases  subject 
to  sickening  ill-treatment  from  the  overseers.  1  have 
heard  of  two  or  three  cases  where  foreign  employes 
have  thrown  up  their  jobs  on  account  of  the  physical 
brutality  employed  towards  women  and  children  in  mills. 
In  one  case,  at  U>aka,  an  overseer  knocked  a  girl  down, 
then  grabbing  her  by  the  bark  of  her  kimono,  threw 
her  acn>-»  the  room.  A<  she  fell  her  kimono  caught  in 
some  machinery,  and  the  -irl  was  killed.  Certainly  the 
man  did  not  intend  such  an  unhappy  result,  but  a  verdict 
of  accidental  death  was  merely  trilling  with  the  truth. 
The  following  extract  from  The  Japan  Chronicle  gives 
a  gha-t!y  insight  into  the  life  of  these  tens  of  thousands 
of  women,  the  conditions  o!  \\hoM-  service  is  infinitely 
wor-e  than  tho-e  surrounding  the  prostitutes  of  the 


i  he  gloom  ot  fa-  torv  lite  i-  graphically  deputed 
in  a  1«-  lure  delivered  by  I)r.  Ishikawa  at  a  meeting 
ot  the  Kokka  Ig.tku-ka  (National  Me'lical  Society),  lie 
said  : 

l-'einale  workers  in  Japane-e  tai  lories  number 
;oo.ooo,  (it  \\hoin  }oo, <><><>  are  under  twenty  years  ot 
age.  (  )nt  (it  this  arm\  ot  \\oinen  opeia!i\e-i  .joo.ooo  are 
engaged  in  the  -pinning,  \\ea\mg.  and  dseing  industries. 
Seventy  per  cent,  ot  th»->e  wonn-n  h\-e  in  the  factory 
quarters,  v\h;  h  mean--  a  -oil  of  t  onlmeinrnl  .  \\'oik  in  the 
i.tw  i;k  l.i  lories  l.i-t  thu'leen  io  tointeen  hour-  .1  da\  on 
an  a\  i  rage,  . md  that  in  the  wea\  ing  null  -  toui  teen  to  >i\  teen 
hour.  1  he  remaining,  ho'.irs  .([••  de\otid  to  |eej»ing, 
bathing,  toilet,  eh.  It  i  not  >U!pn-ing  that  the  health 
ot  ill-  -<•  \nung  \som--n  i>  -eiioii.!-,  muiied  \>\  -u  h  <  on 

'      I  .I'.;-'    I!',     L'y  ('/;;     •;;,  /,  ,    M.,\    '/.    \<)l  }. 


FINANCE,    INDUSTRY,   AND   COMMERCE     251 

ditions.  .With  regard  to  the  spinning  mills,  female 
workers  arc  put  to  night  work  every  seven  or  eight 
days.  Night  work  affects  the  workers'  health  so  severely 
that  at  the  end  of  a  week  they  lose  considerable  weight. 
This  loss  may  he  partly  recovered  during  the  succeeding 
week  on  the  day  shift,  but  the  night  work,  though  inter- 
mittent, ultimately  wrecks  the  health  of  the  workers. 
None  can  stand  the  strain  for  more  than  a  year,  when 
death,  sickness,  or  desertion  is  the  inevitable  outcome. 
The  consequence  is  that  Ho  per  cent,  of  the  female 
workers  leave  the  factories  every  year  through  various 
causes,  but  this  loss  is  immediately  replenished  by  new 
hands. 

'  The.  food  provided  by  tlr-  factory  boarding-houses 
may  be  tolerable  to  the  class  from  which  the  women  are 
recruited,  but  as  to  the  other  accommodation  it  is  simply 
sickening.  The  women  on  the  night  and  day  shifts  are 
obliged  to  share  one  bed,  which  is  neither  aired  nor 
dusted,  and  never  exposed  to  the  sun,  since  as  soon  as 
one  leaves  it,  another  takes  her  place.  Consequently 
consumption  spreads  among  the  operati\cs  like  an 
epidemic. 

'  Tin:  number  of  women  who  are  recruited  as  factory 
workers  reaches  200,000  every  year,  but  of  these  I  20,000 
do  not  return  to  the  parental  roof.  Hither  they  become 
birds  ot  passage,  and  move  from  one  factory  to  another, 
or  go  as  maids  in  dubious  tea-houses,  or  as  illicit  prosti- 
tutes. Among  the  So, ooo' women  who  return  to  their 
homes,  something  like  13,000  are  found  to  be  sick, 
about  25  per  cent,  ot  them  having  contracted  consump- 
tion. The  death-rate  from  consumption  of  female  factors' 
operatives  is,  as  reported  to  the  police,  S  per  1,000  ; 
but  the  death-rate  from  the  same  disea-e,  after  their  return 
home,  is  30  per  1,000." 

Japan  is  making  this  terrible  sacrifice  in  order  to 
increase  her  exports  abroad.  The  revolting-  nature  of 
factory  life  is  gradually  dawning  on  the  dull  intellects 
of  country  folks,  and  the  recruiting  of  female  workers 
is  becoming1  more  and  more  difficult.  Those  who  have 


252  JAPAN    AT   THK    CROSS   ROADS 

travelled  in  tin-  interior  bear  indisputable  testimony  that 
consumption  is  spreading  in  localities  that  had  never 
kmnvn  the  malady  before  the  advent  of  factories  in  the 
country.  Consumption  had  been  contracted  and  brought 
back  to  the  villages  by  the  factory  ^irls.  to  do  its 
fell  work  aniorv^  the  country  i>eojile.  In  such  circum- 
stances it  is  not  surprising  that  the  country  folks  have 
been  led  to  regard  the  factories  as  terrible  places,  to 
be  shunned  at  all  costs.  In  certain  villages  of  Nii^'ata 
prefecture  the  headmen  and  police  have  formed  a  com- 
bination to  prevent  women  leaving  their  home-,  for  the 
factories.  In  Akita  the  prcJ'ectural  authorities  have 
publicly  prohibited  the  recruiting  of  factory  twirls  by 
labour  agents.  The  famine  in  the  north-east  has  no 
doubt  been  a  windfall  to  the  recruiting  agents,  but  it 
is  probable  thai  a  lew  years  hence  the  supply  of  female 
operatives  \\ill  !)••  practically  exhausted.  If  this  come-, 
to  |>ass  it  will  mean  a  seriou-;  industrial  crisis. 

In  a  Aeries  of  articles  contributed  to  the  \V.t'*/m:nstt'r 
f/(i~cttc  in  i  u  i  4,  Miss  Violet  Markham  skilfully  sketched 
political  and  social  conditions  in  China  and  Japan. 
Dealing  ui:h  th-  ta< .  tory  sy-tem.  she  sa\s  that  in  Japan 
the  condition-,  ap-  open  to  "very  ;;rave  criticism,"  e\en 
when  every  ailowance  h.i  -  !)•  CM  made  tor  the  dilterence 
between  Japanese  and  Kr.eji-h  standard-^.  Discussing 
.Ma 


••'<; 

i.i.  n  Hi  i  ,      .\i  i  -,  ->     .>iaii 

enerally  -p'-akin;.:1,   J. 

M  1  .  1  1  H       -  .  O  •  i     . 

ij  ane-e  w<  .men  en^a;. 

;ed   in   tin1 

'   i  /t  tO'l 

trade    wni'k    under 

(  out  rai  'ts    es  en!  i.illv 

servile    in 

<  har.u 

ter.      '1  h'-y    are    indi 

•ntur'-d    for    a    peiii'd 

of     three 

years. 

and    live    m    compo 

und^    at  tai  h'-d    to    tin 

•    factory  . 

1  Jurin: 

;    thi-    lenil    they 

-  li  »ni    l'-a-.  e   the   i  ompi 

itind.    and 

<  annot 

a\  e  under  \er\    <•> 

.(  •  phonal   «  it'  um-tani 

es,    break 

th-  ir    i 

ndenuire-,.      Sunday, 

ol    i  i  iiir-e.    i     iM  >t    k< 

•pt      !!l     the 

1-ar    I- 

.at,    t  h'-    pr;;:<  ij.le   oi 

on--    day's    re  t    in    v 

•\  ell     due-. 

not    o! 

•  tain    there.        |  h>-    . 

o!  toll      1  .11   tol  je  -.     \\-  i!  k 

day    and 

hi-ht 

oil        1.1  1  '       oj     tuelv, 

iii  r.n  .    e.ii  h,    ail'  1    t  In  i  ' 

are    i  \M  i 

hohda 

y  >   in    t  h'-   in*  r,'  h,   nil 

le.    olle    -u-jie    t  -.    1'  il- 

Ihe    Iieed> 

o(     th'- 

ina.  1  1  ;  :  i  -  r  v    than    I  '  .>  , 

lt    <  it    t  h--    ir.inian    i  K  i  , 

...      The- 

.ivfia 

•      dad-.     ua-.:.      ..t     tl 

i-      t'  male     -ilk      pini! 

ir    i  -     i  o 

FINANCE,    INDUSTRY,    AND   COMMKRCK     253 

sen  (say  scvenpcnce),  and  of  the.  female  weaver  25 
sen.  lint  from  this  sum  9  sen  i>  deducted  daily  for 
food." 

The  conclusion  drawn  that  a  continuance  in  the  present 
path  will  lead  to  '  inefficiency,  failure,  and  a  whole- 
sale wreckage  of  Japan's  greatest  national  asset — the 
health  and  physique  of  her  women  '  is  a  very  just  one. 

There  is  a  general  delusion  amongst  foreigner.^  that 
Japanese  labour  is  very  cheap.  Doubtless  twenty  years 
ago  it  was.  To-day  there  is  only  a  fractional  difference 
between  costs  in  Japan  and  abroad.  Wiages  i"  J;MKin 
are  based  on  the  price  of  commodities,  the  most  im- 
portant of  which  is  rice,  the  staple  food  of  the  whole 
nation.  For  many  years  now  the  average  price  of  rice 
has  been  mounting1,  partly  owing  to  the  production  being 
insufficient  to  meet  the  requirements  of  the  country,  parth 
owing  to  tin-  manipulations  of  the  brokers,  and  partly 
to  the  tax  on  foreign  imports,  a  sufficiency  of  which 
would  bring  the  price  down  with  a  run.  Commodities 
having  gone  up  in  value,  wages  have  al>o  had  to  be 
raised,  though  the  depreciation  in  the  purcha-ing  power 
of  the  yen  has  to  a  certain  extent  neutral i/ed  ibis  con- 
cession. For  example,  a  carpenter  who  in  ioo_,  received 
58  sen  per  diem,  in  1914  was  getting  Yi.os.  This 
certainly  compares  unfavourably  with  a  British  carpenter's 
Sd.  per  hour  for  an  eight  hours  day,  which  is  5>.  4<1. 
per  diem.  But  it  requires  three  Japanese  workmen  to 
get  the  same  output  as  one  foreigner,  so  that  our  three 
Japanese  carpenters  will  actually  o>-t  more  -Y^.i5  >  than 
our  one  British  workman.  In  the  cotton  mi!K  the  pro- 
portion is  more  than  three  to  one.  and  touches  four  to  one. 
Not  only  has  the  price  ri-en,  but  it  is  C'>mim:ing  to  ri>e. 
and  will  continue  to  do  so,  in  >p;te  of  the  abnormally 
low  price  of  rice  in  1915,  vhi/h  ma\~  cause  a  temporary 
reduction. 

The  cost  of  Japane>e  manufacturers  is  increasing  in 
other  ways  than  the  actual  cost  of  labour.  Though  raw 
materials  escape  lightly  in  the  tariff,  yet  they  have  to 
bear  heavv  taxes  in  invi-'ble  wavs,  in  the  subsidies  on 


254  JAPAN    AT   THE   CROSS    ROADS 

shipping,  in  ronsumption  and  other  imports.  In  machinery 
Japan  is  heavily  handicapp<'d.  Her  technical  education 
is  very  backward,  and  everything  mechanical  ^ets  badly 
knocked  about.  I  am  assured  by  competent  engineers 
that  the  lit'e  of  a  machine  is  shorter  in  Japan  than  in  any 
other  country.  I  am  aware  ol  a  steel  foundry  in  which 
forei^ii  interests  arc  lari;e,  where  tile  machinery  has  had 
t<>  be  practically  replaced  within  five  years,  not  worn 
out,  but  racked  out.  A  motor-car  rarely  lasts  over  two 
years  in  Japanese  hands.  In  one  wool  mill  I  have  seen 
mat  hines  to  the  value  of  thousands  of  pounds  idle,  and 
had  bem  idle  for  weeks,  because  the  essential  parts 
had  been  ruined  by  carelessness.  A  Japanese  super- 
I  Dreadnought  had  four  hundred  ton-  of  armour-plating 
cut  out  of  her,  because  the  wroiiL,r  blue-prints  were  sent 
to  Midland.  Another  one  received  a  set  of  condensing 
engines,  a  -i/e  too  lar^e,  as  one  mi^ht  say.  owin^  to  a 
similar  mistake.  Th"  director  of  one  concern  bought  a 
thiee  thousand  pound  machine  because  he  liked  the  look 
ol  it  in  the  photographs,  and  regardless  of  his  factory 
beiriLC  too  small  to  admit  it.  I  knew  an  Kn.^lishman 
ap|K)inted  manager  of  a  (Government  foundry,  who->e  first 
act  was  to  close  the  place  for  a  month  to  allow  it  to 
be  cleaned  out  and  the  machines  scrapped.  The  Hon. 
\V.  Kedin  Id  ha-  related  how  lie  arn\ed  at  a  village, 
where  tlr-re  was  a  <o;ton  mill,  full  of  modern  machinery, 
and  with  nobody  to  work  it.  The  ( 'on^re^s  man  took 
oil  hi-  coat  and  -howd  them. 

<  >n  the  other  hand  there  are  fa'  tones  and  yards  second 
to  none  abio.id  in  (-(juipment,  intelligence,  and  product-,. 
Ill--  M.t-u  llidn  at  Na/a-aki  !->  one,  the  |-u.:ita  mines 
aiio'her.  the  Kawasaki  I)oik\ard  and  the  Kanci^atmhi 
<  'ot  to:i  Mill,  an-  i  ither  example-, . 

It    is    not    to   be    wondep-d    at,    therefore,    that     [apane^c 

manuf.u  ture  ^   are    \ery    uneijual    in    (jiiality.      It    is,    there- 

in;;  "     i'  »!e,     oi-    at     ]--a  -t     tin  wi  -e,     ti  >     ; 

n         \  ard    will    turn    o-it    a    liner    n 

ar.<  i1  !i'  r    u  i'l    tarn    out    a      i  ter 
th-       i-.i  ,    tha:ik  •    to    a    <  ouple   of    thousand 


FINANCE,    INDUSTRY,    AND   COMMERCE     255 

pig-iron  ballast.  One  silk  factory  in  Kyoto  will  turn 
out  fabrics  which  arc  a  delight  to  see  and  purclui.se  ; 
another  in  Tokyo,  with  an  equally  famous  name,  will 
deliver  skimped  and  watered  stuff.  Local  conditions  of 
credit,  purchase,  labour,  and  taxes,  and  above  all  tradi- 
tion, will  account  for  a  tremendous  variety  in  the  produc- 
tion. 

Japanese  tradesmen  and  merchants  have  a  bad  repu- 
tation in  commercial  matters,  and  the  statements  of 
Viscount  Oura,  Baron  Makino,  and  other  Ministers  and 
officials  are  proof  enough  that  the  reputation  IK  us  been 
deservedly  gained.  The  excuse  so  often  advanced,  that 
Japanese  traders  were  originally  a  low-class  of  Japanese 
whose  example  has  set  the  fashion  is  not  only  foolish 
but  untrue.  Anyhow  to-day  the  aristocracy  is  so  deeply 
involved  in  trade  that  the  excuse  no  longer  avails,  though 
the  complaint  still  holds  good.  At  the  final  meeting  of 
the  Nippon  Syndicate,  Limited,  in  London,  the  Chairman 
said  that  the  reason  for  the  winding-up  was  due  "  to  the 
widespread  unreliability  of  the  Japanese  nation  in  com- 
merce, no  less  than  to  the  reluctance  of  our  allies  to  admit 
British  enterprise  to  any  share  of  the  resources  of  the 
Far  East.  The  selfish  policy  ot  the  Japanese  lias  reduced 
the  doctrine  of  the  open  door  to  nothing  more  nor  less 
than  a  fiction."  For  trade-marks  the  Japanese  have 
no  respect  whatsoever.  The  '  Black  and  White  '  trade- 
mark is  fraudulently  applied  to  whisky  made  in  Osaka, 
and  the  courts  refused  protection  to  the  foreign  owners, 
on  the  ground  that  anybody  who  sampled  the  two  brands 
would  immediately  be  able  to  tell  the  difference.  Sir 
Claude  MacDonald,  G.C.M.Ci.,  lately  Ambassador  at 
Tokyo,  wrote  that  '  half  an  hour's  walk  in  Tokyo  will 
discover  from  ten  to  twenty  imitations  of  British  trade- 
marks.' Professor  Kimura,  1'h.D..  dealing  particularly 
with  electrical  imlu-tnes,  said  :  "  Foreign  inventors  by 
no  means  get  the  protection  for  their  patents  which  they 
ought  to  get  in  this  country."  The  same  applies  to  other 
classes  of  inventors.  The  Japanese  market  is  a  growing 

w?  1  O  O 

one,  and  patentees  should  obtain  protection  in  that  country 


256  JAI'AN    AT    TIIK    CROSS    ROADS 

by  taking  out  patent  and  confiding  their  interests  to 
capable  foreign  agents  to  prevent  infringement.  The 
same  applies  to  trade-marks. 

In  10,13  a  cargo  of  tinned  crab  from  the  Hokkaido 
was  rejected  by  the  Seattl"  authorities  as  until  for  human 
consumption.  It  was  brought  back  to  fapan,  offered 
to  an  Indian  agent  and  ivfu-ed.  shipped  on  commission 
to  Calcutta,  and  rejected  by  the  h'-al'.h  authorities,  and 
finally  sold  off  in  Java.  The  evidence  of  Japane-e  com- 
mercial immorality  is  overwhelming,  ai.d  i:  \\ill  require  a 
great  deal  more  than  mini-terial  pla'.itudes  to  correct 
it.  On  the  other  hand  then-  are  great  and  small  firms 
there  with  whom  it  i-.  a  plea-ure  to  deal.  Japanese 
commercial  morality  at  it-  be-t  \-  equal  to  the  best 
in  any  country.  At  it-;  wor-t.  and  the  black  sheep  un- 
doubtedly predominate,  it  make-,  even  the  Japanese 
Con-ul-(  ieii'-ral  in  San  I''ra:i<i->co  '  i--el  a-  though  1 
\\anted  to  hide  ;ny-elt  tor  shame.'  < 

\\'hat  may  the  hir.irr  be  for  Japane-e  industries'/ 
Cotton,  coal,  an-i  -ilk  are  in  all  \  ioi).ib;lity  the  three 
indu-trie-,  in  uh:<'h  Japan  might  lioji.-  to  compete  with 
the  \Yje-t  for  th  •  <  'hina  mark-'!-. 

One  of  the  mo-t  nindt-rn  indn-trie-.  in  Japan,  cotton 
-pinning,  i-.  no-.v  one  ot  the  mo-t  important,  and  pro 
Vide-,  the  -ei  oud  lar;.;e-  it-'in  111  th-  !l-»  of  exports. 
The  lir-t  mill  ua-  I'-taMi  h  I  in  I  S-.S  b;.  l'i  m<  e 
Shimadxu,  h' .id  ''I  the  Sat -nma  cl.m.  \\!io  i:i;port--d  the 
neces-ary  ttan.e  .nil  p.nd^-,  lro;n  Ain-ii  a,  -mne.glmg. 
theiu  into  Japan  by  \\a\  o!  ih  •  Loo.  hoo  I  -land-.  Hi-- 
object of  (a'ting  t!i  in-ln  f,  \\a-  ;h ••  e\,-r  re.  nnent 
one  of  i  hei  king  iniji'-'t-  ••!  tor--:  -,n  ;,"od  ,  an  in.'e'itio-i 
fuither  ni'ii  .c'd  b.  tl|-  ::::!"•  i -;i  :  o'i  ot  c.r.to!i  jir-iumg. 
A  '  rt.nn  d-  \  !oji;ii«-n:  \-..i  o'  tamed,  b;;'  th--  l.innei 
uere  nn-1.:  <«  ful  v.  :t!i  :h--  n  v.  p!.i:.t.  and  r  wa-  al\sa\ 

•  h'-.iji-  ;    t- 1    im;  o: ;    |or--ign    i  -.;'o:i    \  am  -.    v. !:  -  'i    \\eic   a!  o 

•  -I      up'-ri-  •!     '!  :  ci'  y 

Alt    i    tic     S.il     .:;.  i    !••!.•  I.'IMI: 


FIN  A  NCI';,    INDUSTRY,    AND    COM  MERCK     257 

they  met  with  little  Miceess.  I-'rom  1^95  Japanese  yarn 
figured  in  the  exjM>rl  li-t.->.  From  the  time  of  tin:  Chinese. 
war  a  steady  development  set  in.  The  Chinese  indeinnity 
provided  abundant  funds,  (heap  freights  were  arranged 
from  India,  Kore.i  became  a  Japanese  market,  the  import 
duty  on  cotton  was  abolished,  as  aNo  the  export  duty  on 
yarn.  The  attempt  to  ou^t  Indian  yarn  from  China  in 
I  900  failed,  and  the  fall  in  iiver  caused  a  setback  which 
was  further  accentuated  by  the  Boxer  outbreak.  After 
the  Russian  war  a  further  .steady  development  set  in, 
until  in  1913  the  figures  relating  to  the  industry  were — 

Spinning  Mills   ()~\  M.ilr  Operatives  H),j2H 

Capital      Y'I'I,  I'M  ,^7  ',  l-Vmalc  Operatives ^^,362 

Spindles  j.j  i -.',;(>/•  Annual  Days     ^o^ 

l\'a\v      and      LJiniud  l>aily    1 1  >  in  -> 20 

Cotton  (  Kwan  I  ...  /'*/'''.>.<;'>.>  1 'ailv  \Va^L'  i  Malt-) \.\  -vi-ii 

Yarn     '>7.i;i  j,nS  ;  Diiily  Wa^e  (Kcinalc) ^c;-rn 


EXI'OKTS. 

Yen 


Yarn  —  C"i;ina 


Mi>(.'(.-lla!n.-iiti>    ......        i  .(>_'<>,  4:;  i 


72.S4S.i5 


-All  t'oivii^n  (.-(uiii'irics  1  1  , 

I\i  uxa  ..................  ii  ,1 


Japan's  gTcatc>t  danger  in  connection  witli  the  China 
market  is  the  establishment  of  the  spinning  industry  in 
China,  in  which  case  the  Japanese  nulls  would  >oon  be 
bankrupt.  To  meet  this  menace  two  steps  have  been 
taken.  The  one  has  been  the-  acquisition,  wherever  pos- 
sible. of  mills  already  existing  in  China,  or  of  a  financial 
interest  in  the  sime,  the  other  has  been  diplomatic  ob>truc- 
tion  of  any  ixni-imi  ot  the  Chinese  taritf,  which  would 
raise  a  barrier  to  the  import  of  Japanese  yarn  at  a  less 

17 


258  JAPAN    AT   THE   CROSS    ROADS 

price  than  China  could  manufacture.      On   I'Ybrunry    I S. 
1912,   I    wrote  from  Tokyo  : — 

"  The  Hua  H-.uan  Spinning  Mill  at  Shanghai,  and 
the  Wuchang  Spinning  and  Weaving  Mill-,  have  been 
placed  under  the  control  of  the  Mit-u  liussan  Company, 
which  will  in  future  manage  them.  The  Mit-u  P>i-hi 
Company  is  purchasing  the  Chen  Hua  Spinning  Mills 
at  Shanghai,  a  concern  operating  21.770  spindle-,  to 
which  another  40,000  will  be  added  by  the  new  owner-." 
'The  following-  Chine-e  mill-  have  been  at  quired  by 
Japanese  interests,  either  completely  or  as  manager-  : 
Changhai  Spinning  Mills,  Santai  Spinning  Mill-,  Jih  H-m 
Spinning  Mill,  Nai  Wai  Spinning  Mill.  Nai  (iai  Cotton 
Spinning  Company." 

That  [x>h(  y  of  ab-orption  has  been  continued  since, 
and  any  one  who  goe-  to  Shanghai  can  drive  out  to 
the  Point,  pas-ing  many  flourishing  mill-,  which  have 
pa-sed  over  from  Chin<'-e  to  Japane-e  control. 

The  propo-al  that  the  Chine-e  Cu-toin-  duties  be  in- 
crea-ed  to  12.'.  per  cent,  has  been  blocked  by  the-  action 
of  Japan,  which  refu-e-  to  agree  becau-e  su<  h  a  pn>- 
[Kj-al  would  endanger  Japanese  trade  with  China.  Shi- 
argue-  that  so  great  an  advance  would  proceed  beymd 
th'-  need-  of  revenue  to  protection.  That  -IK  h  an  attitude 
i-  (on-i-tent  with  Japane-e  -elti-hne--  need-  no  empha-i-. 
A-  in  every  other  international  matter  into  whit  h  -he  ha- 
been  able  to  poke  her  linger,  only  the  Japane-e  stand- 
jK)int  mu-t  be  re^ard'-d.  For  [apan  to  set  up  a  pro- 
hibitive tarin  i-  ti/Jr  and  proper  ;  for  any  other  P<>\vei 
to  do  -o  i  e\-en  if  thi-  were  intended  in  the  <  a-e  ol  ( "hina  >. 
i-  mo-t  imjiroper,  and  obviou-ly  aimed  again-t  Japan. 
It  only  th(-  Japali<--(-  \\ould  \\aive  th'il  egol-m  lor  a 
moment,  to  believe  tha*  ti 
Jajian,  aii'  1  other  int<  re-t- 
l-'orejg-n  <  mi.  e-  of  th--  worli 
i  o  n  j » :  i  a  i  '.  .  i .  a  i ,  ! 
Kar  La  :  would  be 
o  •  d  taiit!  1 1  .  :  •:  !i  i;.  < 
(a'.a  .'  Had--  1  vei  •. 


FINANCE,    INDUSTRY,    AND   COMMKRCE     259 

levy  would  hit  other  countries  jiM  as  hard,  and  tin' 
Japanese  have  no  special  license  from  Heaven  to  receive 
partial  treatment.  The  Japanese  do  not  fear  foreign 
competition,  but  what  they  wi^h  to  do  is  to  deny  the 
Chinaman  the  right  to  initiate  and  operate  industries  in 
his  own  country  in  the  same  way  as  they  have  denied 
him  the  right  to  construct  and  operate  railways  in 
Manchuria.  If  China  can  establish  the  spinning  industry, 
Japanese  mills  will  certainly  be  hard  hit,  for  the  com- 
petition will  be  most  severe  on  the  coarser  counts,  on 
which  Osaka  is  distinctly  strong.  If  the  proposal  to 
drop  i  os.  and  2os.  for  the  liner  counts  is  adopted, 
Japan  will  have  to  face  sharp  competition  from  India 
as  well  as  America,  which  has  been  brought  appreciably 
nearer  to  Chinese  markets  by  the  opening"  of  the  Panama 
Canal,  besides  having  the  advantage  of  using  her  own 
raw  material.  In  cotton  yarn  Japan  ha>  won  her  way 
on  the  coarser  counts,  whilst  in  fabrics  her  product  is 
quite  second  class.  In  Australia  and  Canada  you  may 
buy  Japanese  towelling1  at  half  the  price  of  English, 
and  wear  it  out  more  than  twice  as  quickly.  Neither 
as  regards  cotton  nor  woollen  piece-goods  did  English 
experts,  whom  I  met  in  Japan,  express  much  fear  of 
the  native  article.  Manchester  men  unanimously  were 
optimistic.  The  dependence  on  abroad  for  raw  material, 
the  low  productive  capacity  of  the  workers,  the  tempera- 
mental and  climatic  differences,  which  count  for  much, 
the  increasing  cost  of  labour,  and  the  heavy  prime  cost 
and  annual  depreciation  of  machinery  are  all  factors 
against  Osakan  predominance.  Stuff  is  produced,  and 
plenty  oi  it,  but  not  tine  stuff.  It  was  generally  con- 
ceded that  when  China  begins  to  manufacture  in  real 
earnest  she  will  be  able  not  only  to  supply  herself,  but 
to  under-sell  Japan  in  Korea  and  elsewhere. 

In  woollen  goods  Bradford  thinks  similarly.  To  begin 
with  the  Japanese  niiil-  are  hopelessly  incapable  of  ful- 
filling the  ever-increasing  demand  in  Japan  for  European 
style  cloths.  The  present  factories,  which  are  all  heavily 
subsidized,  date  only  from  after  the  Russo-Japanese  war. 


2oo  JAPAN    AT    Till-:    (ROSS    RoADS 

I  heir  products  arr  va-t!y  inferior  to  imported  xi>0(^- 
.mil  (  tj^{  1-.  ]K-r  \.ird  mote,  e\en  after  allo\\rr,;  tor  the 
t.inti.  A^.iin  in  \\ool  it  In-  to  !>••  r«  m<  :-mh<  r<  •<!  ih.it 
pattern-  arc  ni"-t  important.  an-!  th-  J.ipane>e  are  al\\a\- 
a  <  ouple  ot  \ear-  behind  1:1  d'--l;;mr.:;  .  I  In  r<  arr  a 
^o<>d  manlx-i'  ot  liii''  *  !o:h-.  pin  on  the  maikrt  a^  Japanese, 
hut  all  an-  Iir.i.lt..nl.  'An  I  would,'  1  ioul.1  tdl 
a  in:in\-  --tory  ol  rc.;inicnts  dr-^-cd  in  r.ra-lfi'rd  kliaki. 
-<»ld  in  Bradford  !'>  (I'-nnany.  and  rr-rxportrd  to  a 
a.iiu-x'  i  oiitrartcir.  \\li"  ^-old  it  t<>  a  -u!  >-idi/r<  1  fa<  lor, 


-pn  ialit<'.'     Any  idea  tliat  tin-  Jajiaiic-c  null-  will 

tin-     l-'ar     I'!a-t     d'-p  -rid-    cntirrly    on    how     far    and    how 

Ion;;    <  'hina    \\ill    b'.r.     !':!•  r:or    dioddy. 

'"oal  i-  OIH-  oi  Japan'-  ino-t  important  rxport-,  luit 
opinion  i-.  doubtful  a-,  to  \\lsitli-i-  n  \\ill  !>••  a!>I<'  to  hold 
t!)<-  inarkft.  1  p  t!r-  \a'i;^!-c  i1  ha-  a!r.  ad\  ln-cn  di->- 


the  ad\rntitiou-  aid  <>t  strik--^.  I;  i-  r-:iniat'-d  th.r. 
thcri1  at''-  I  ,joo. OOo.ooo  ton-  of  coal  in  k\a-hu,  vdnl-t 
thcp-  an-  tar  larger  ^-ap])li<->  in  tin-  llolckaido.  I  n- 
iort:ina!'-K  o!il\  a  lf\v  -ram-,  ot  uhi>  h  th<-  nio-t  impoi-i.mi 
i  rli--  Takadiimi  ia  u!»mari:n  nata  d'-  o\cn-d  1>\  the 
la'.e  Mr.  1'.  li.  idover,  and  now  ouned  !•>  the  Mit-;i 
I',:  hi  i,  .it'  o|  f:r-t  «:,t--  i|iialii\.  I'll--  ii-l  i-  !iro\v;i 
li;_;i:iie.  a  very  [Mior  i  alori»i<  .  In  addniitn  to  ih-  (..m 
P"ti'io;i  ut  ( 'hin-  •  >al  t;om  llnnan  and  l\\in/.  i.  M.i'k 
<  oal  ot  .  \.i  -li'-nt  j)!oji"i  ii<  .  th  •  i;n  i<  a  in:  u  •••  ol  oil 
!'i'  !  v.  ill  dinnnidi,  tho-.^.'i  i*'M  :Md'iid'.  t!i--  d-  m.md 
lor  !,'::!!;. T.. 

In    ili.     iron    and    -'•   •!    !i..d-       fy     on:!     •'.    j        ..<    [,.,, 
p-o  ; -   t •  •  i   .       | .1;    in    h.i      I •;:'    \  <  '.  .    i:n.r-   !  ot    .  i <  , 

a::d  'lo;    :!,:      d:.iv.      .,:,    Hi       la    .,'  !'T:  •    i    th-- 

I  .r  t    mm-        in     I!--:,     d.       <  »\-  ?     tin-    !•  ••;:•  !  a 

n.-  r  '  'a  "•.     '•  ''.i!  \   r  :."!,().  i  ,( i,     \',  hi  I     i  i-i 


annn.d    .-•  :p;it.      I'    i      i 


f<  •::.'  i    in    K'  a  ea,    and    <•'•'..   i  '.'. 


FINANCK,    INDUSTRY,    AND   COMMKRCK     261 

nature  have  not  been  l.u  kinv;,  hut  so  far  the  announce- 
ments have  noi  hccn  implemented  by  serious  operations, 
'lied  to  foreign  siippli--,,  it  is  doubtful  whether  Jap. in 
can  do  much  in  the  way  of  manufacturing  for  export. 
Such  demands  as  those  mad;-  on  China  recently,  that 
railway  material  should  he  bouvjit  from  Japan  would, 
if  acquiesced  in,  simply  m^an  that  Japan  would  buy 
abroad  and  resell  to  ( 'hina  at  a  profit,  pocketing  the 
difference.  \\'ide  advertisement  lias  been  made  ot  the 
construction  of  super-Dreadnoughts  in  Japan.  A-.  a 
matter  ot  tact,  ho  per  cent,  of  the  juris  of  these  ships 
are  made  abroad,  and  only  fitted  together  in  Japan.1 
1  was  immensely  ti  kled  by  th*'  relation  of  a  foreign 
Naval  Attache  of  his  \isit  ID  Kure  Arsi-nal,  to  see.  the 
progress  made  in  the  construction  of  a  super-DrcadnouLdit. 
Having  been  carefully  told  that  everything  in  connec- 
tion with  the  vessel  was  of  Japanese  manufa<  tun-,  he 
was  proceeding  across  the  bay  ui;h  the  [apanese  oincer, 
who  uas  his  cicerone,  \vhen  t!i"Y  passed  a  UIL;'  with 
two  barges  in  tow.  (  >n  thes"  laitc-r  was  a  Iiu^e  [irupeller 
shaft,  {tainted  in  red,  with  the  name  of  the  maker,  a 
well-known  liriti-h  linn.  '  \VJiat '•>  that  for?  "  lie  a^k-'d, 
and  in  an  unguarded  moiiieat  hi.s  cicerone  replied,  "  1'dr 
the  f-'uso  ! 

In  copper  Japan  is  rich,  and  in  water  she  is  richer 
still,  it  is  estimated  that  there  is  10,000.000  h.p.  avail- 
able in  the  country  of  which  only  }oo,ooo  h.p.  has  been 
harnessed.  As  the  porcelain  industry  is  well  developed, 
and  supplies  ot  mica  are  abundant  in  KOPM,  the  manu- 
facture of  electrical  appliances  is  making  headway. 
Hydro-electric  enterprises  should  be  encouraged,  and  if 
foreign  co-oj>erat  it>n  i-  united  on  reasonable  terms  a 
;.;reat  deal  could  b,  done  for  th-'  adxancenieiit  of  the 
country. 

In  silk  Japan  at  present  holds  its  own.  Sericulture 
is  a  side  line  w!;h  lanners,  and  is  liable  to  severe  ups 
and  do\\iis.  I'lievc  is  a  danger  that  ;^o\ei'nni'nt  inier- 
lerence  ma\  check  the  further  tle\'elopnient  of  the  in- 

:    I'l.iii'n  S.u;<>  in  1'ici.  l-' 


262  JAPAN    AT   THK   CROSS    ROADS 

dustry,  hut  Driven  normal  conditions  tin-  weavers  should 
he  uhle  for  some  tune  to  come  to  meet  the  comjx'tition 
expected  from  China,  or  even  that  of  artificial  weaving 
threatened  from  America. 

That  Japanese  themselves  are  pessimistic  as  to  their 
industrial  and  commercial  future  may  he  gathered  from 
Count  ( )kuma's  summary  in  the  Shin-\i/ion  in  1  )ecemher, 
1911,  where  he  said  :  "  Cotton— extremely  doubtful  : 
roal— hopeless  :  iron  no  future:  silk-  -good*:  lacquer 
-already  killed." 

The  Japanese  are  intensely  intere-tcd  in  every  foreign 
criticism  of  their  commercial  conditions,  and  eagerly  pick 
uj)  ajiy  jx>ints  they  can  Irom  it.  In  February,  1012, 
1  sent  to  London  a  lon^  report  on  Japanese  industries, 
the  whole  of  which  was  immediately  telegraphed  hack 
to  japan,  and  a  day  or  two  later  I  recencd  a  call  from 
a  very  jx>lite  otiicial  of  the  Department  of  Commerce, 
who  wanted  to  di-cuss  one  or  two  points  I  had  raised. 

In  September,  I'M  4-  live  weeks  after  the  outbreak 
of  war,  I  was  in  Colombo,  and  in  the  Hotel  Bristol  1 
met  the  a^'ent  of  sonic  twenty  Japanese  linns,  and  ot 
the  Department  ot  ( 'oinnierce.  lie  had  two  ^lock-rooms 
full  of  samples  of  Japanese  ;_;oods.  whicli  would  replace 
(  ierman  and  Austrian.  He  had  Camples  of  the  t\\o 
latter  placed  -id<-  by  -ide  \vith  those  from  Japan,  with 
tickets  att.i' h'-d  showing  the  dilterente  in  pri.  e  and 
(jnality.  He  told  nic  that  in  a  week  he  had  dour  twenty 
thou-and  j)oiinds  ot  business,  r,ot  only  \\i:h  the  Cingalese, 
but  with  niei'i  hant-v  from  Madras,  Iravamore,  and  othei 
jilaces. 

1  he  vi'-\v  expre--n]  in  th«-  <  onrludm^  sentence,  of 
th"  la-t  paia^iM|>h,  and  \\i,t!  -n  wh'-ii  (lie  war  u.i-  onl\ 
a  (•  w  month*  oM,  ha-  re'--i\-e,l  remarkable  coniinna- 


FINANCE,    INDUSTRY,   AND   COMMERCE     263 

trade  balances  to  favourable  ones.  The  value  of  imports 
fell  from  ¥729,431,044  in  1913  to  ¥595,735,725  in 
1914,  and  to  ¥532,449,93^  in  1915.  During  the  nine 
months  which  ended  in  September,  1916,  the  imports 
were  ¥539,405,000.  Exports  during  the  same  three 
years  wen-  in  19 13  ¥632,460,213,  in  1914 
¥591,101,461,  and  in  1915  ¥708,306,997,  a  figure 
which  had  already  been  increased  by  5  per  cent,  during 
the  nine  months  which  ended  at  September  30,  1916. 
So  that  during  1913  and  1914  there  was  an  'adverse' 
balance  of  ¥101,706,195,  whilst  1915,  and  the  first 
nine  months  of  1916,  showed  a  favourable  balance  of 
¥372,1  i  1,059. 

The  supply  of  munitions  to  the  Allies,  principally, 
of  course,  to  Russia,  was  responsible  for  a  large  jx)rtion 
of  the  increase  in  exports,  no  less  than  ¥136,000,000 
being  traceable-  to  war  requirements.  Very  large  in- 
creases were  also  registered  in  the  shipments  to  China, 
British  India,  the  Dutch  Indies,  and  Australia.  It  is 
noticeable,  however,  that  exports  to  these  latter  countries 
were  directly  due  to  the  lack  of  foreign  competition, 
owing  to  the  blockade  of  German  manufactures  and  the 
preoccupation  of  the  Allied  and  American  factories  with 
war  work.  As  might  be  expected,  the  lines  in  which 
advances  were  most  marked  were  not  those  generally 
regarded  as  staple  export  commodities.  Raw  silk  and 
cotton  yarns  showed  important  decreases.  Rice,  tea, 
copper,  habutac,  cotton  knitted  goods,  and  matches  showed 
increases  of  considerable  amount,  but  by  far  the  largest 
improvements  were  in  goods  which  hitherto  had  only 
figured  in  the  export  li>ts  for  a  few  hundred  thousands 
of  yen,  and  in  which  Japan  had  never  before  appeared 
as  a  world  supplier.  Boots  and  shoes,  leather  goods, 
woollens  and  serges,  antimony,  steel  and  iron  goods, 
rubber  goods,  cement,  oats  and  beans  were  all  new  lines 
of  Japanese  enterprise  in  which  remarkable  figures  were 
recorded  in  1915,  and  in  which  evidence  of  even  greater 
prosperity  will  be  found  when  the  figures  for  1916  are 
published.  Of  course,  the  change  in  Japan's  position  in 


264  JAPAN    AT   THE   CROSS    ROADS 

the  \vnrM'->  economy,  a>  the  change  in  the  comparative 
values  iif  "her  various  export-,  i-.  largely  due  to  the 
abnormal  ronditions  created  by  the  war.  How  permanent 
tho-e  t  han^e.-.  arc  to  be  depends  very  much  on  the 
economic  programme  of  the  world  when  pea* •<•  -ha!l  be 
concluded.  It  i^  doubtful  whether  Japan  \\ill  e\ a  r  be 
ousted  from  tlie  po-ition  whii'h  >he  ha>  won  for  herself  in 
the  ChincM-  market^,  and  in  the  wri:cr'>  opinion  it  \\ould 
not  be  altogether  a  i^ond  tiling  if  >he  could  be.  British 
India  i>  another  question,  and  the  bc-t  public  opinion 
in  India  do<->  not  wi-h  to  >ee  Japan  permanently  in-lalled 
in  control  of  the  A-iatic  yarn  market^.  Sir  Shapurji 
Hroatha,  for  exaniple.  >aid  re-ently  :  "  India  need-> 
j>rotcv'tion  aj^ain-t  Japanese  ( oinpeiition,  not  only  in 
India,  but  *>  j)re\nit  Indian  yarn  beiii^  ou-tcd  from 
China." 

In  Im]'<-nal  finance  u;reat  imj.Tove?nents  h.i\e  taken 
placi-  a>  the  ie-uh  ot  the  <  \:  r.toi  din,ir\  pro-peiity  \\huh 
ha-,  oxcrtaken  th  •  lountry.  Marqui>  <  >kuma  >pecihcalh 
<li>a-^>-  iated  liiniseli  1  rom  thf-  no-loan  polux,  \\'hu  h  had 
bei-n  ad<ipied  by  ln>  predei  e  -01  ,  on  the  pica  that  circum- 
^tancj-s  alone  <  ould  !•••  tin-  decisive  !a>  tor>  ot  p«'hc\. 
A^  ,i  matter  ot  }a' t.  cionninic  (  on<li:ion-,  wre  -u<  h  that 
there  \\-.i>  no  ne(e  —  j:\  to  rai-e  monc\  abroad,  even  it  tin- 
rould  have  been  done.  ai;d  the  Specie  Kr-erve  ilK  reaped 
-o  that  a  po-itive  and  exact  redenijition  jM»lny  could 
be  iniiiated  tor  redu  :;i  j  tlie  out -tain  lini;  Jorej-n  debt. 
I  he  I)ii-t  authori/el  1:1  Ma\  an  aiiirial  redenijition  of 
Y  ;< >,<)()'  i.oo<)  '  C  •', . f )  "  J.i  ><  '< '  ,  \\  1  ;l(  h  ha  -  b<  en  cai  I  lf'd  m:' 
e.ic  !i  year,  and  .t  turth'-r  -um  o|  N'^o.oo  i.ooo  ha--  been 
ntili/ed  for  ill'-  pa-t  ;\so  \ear-  lor  ion\eitin,;  toiei;.;n 
loan  into  n,!'  inal,  a  rein  uha'd  •  r  /'<  /  n'<  horn  the 
ri'i':fU'  ot  I  ia  i '  .n  I  a'.a  ;  a  h:,  \\  ho  r  '  <  -id-  d  'o  i  i.in  ei  1 
irit'-r  nal  loan  >  into  lop  ;  .;n  .  In  addition,  i  h,-  .•  j  eat  a<  <  nmu 
la'  ion  ot  :  old  a'  ><  ]>'•  ml  >•  r  ;o.  I  '/  i  '  ll.e  Spe.  n-  Ke  -n  \  e 

\looil     .i'      \    '    .:  I  .<  '<)<  i.i  ii  .(  )  '  ,     ha       <  11. tb'.ed      (.ij-an     to     t.ike     up 

numeric.;  ,  i-  ir      ot    !<•;     ian,   1  P  ii'  h.  and   1 1:  i'i  h    I  P  a  in  \ 

bill  -.  a  -  Uel  1  i  to  'ib-,  t  l'1  I''  I  I'.  1  It  !  ll  !o,i!l  'I  ^  I  '  '.  <><><..(  »  M  ) 
in  1  •  .1:  \  o.  ai  i  ot  U  i  1 1  i  l  I  e\<  eljelil  1  e  t  ill  loll  ,  to  the 


FINANCE,    INDUSTRY,    AND   COMMERCE     205 

heartiness  with  which  the  Japanese  authorities  have 
identified  themselves  with  the.  Allied  cause,-. 

The  following  from  an  American  Consular  report 
efficiently  sununari/.es  tin-  situation  at  September,  i>>\<>. 
It  say.s  that,  compared  with  last  year,  exports  to  tin-  i  ai 
East  and  the  South  Seas  in<  reaped  by  a  little  more  than 
40  |)er  cent.,  and  imports  therefrom  by  .about  20  per- 
cent. An  increase  of  about  40  per  cent.  is  shown  in 
exports  to  Kurope,  and  a  little  more  than  30  per  eent. 
in  imports  from  Kurope.  The  rate  of  m<  rease  in  exports 
to  and  imports  from  the  l.'nited  Slate.--,  is  ~()  and  73 
per  cent,  respectively. 

Exports  to  South  America  increased  130  per  cent., 
and  imports  therefrom  154  per  cent.  The  trade  \\ith 
Australia  increased  by  57  per  cent,  in  exports,  and  32 
per  cent,  in  imports.  Exports  to  South  Africa  increased 
by  310  per  cent.,  while  an  increase  of  57  per  cent,  is 
shown  in  imports  from  South  Africa. 

The  principal  factors  in  the  enormous  developments 
in  japan's  foreign  trade  have  been  :  - 

i  .    Exports   of    munitions   of    war. 

2.  Increased    exports    to    the     I-'ar    East,     Smith    Seas, 
Australia,  South   Africa.  South  America,  and  other  place- 
as    substitutes    lor     European    ^oods. 

3.  Increased  activity   in  the  export   trade  of   the  ("nited 
St. itt's,    consequent    upon    American    financial    prosperity. 

.} .    Increased    imports    of    industrial    material-. 

5.  Advance  in  the  \alue  of  exports  and  import-  on 
account  of  the  appreciation  of  commodities  due  to  the 
war. 

It  is  stated  thai  at  the  end  of  September  japan's 
etild  reserve  totalled  <  >Jo.cKiO,>  oo  yen  *  ;  I  ;.  5  ;  <>,  ;oo  < . 
It  increased  to  '  > ^0,00  1,000  \en  *  524.02  5.000  >  *'" 
October  i  ^th.  making  a  new  record  in  Japan's  pus.-e^on 
ot  ;-M>ld  specie.  Of  this  figure,  J  I  O.ooo.ooo  \e;i 
i  •">  1 04,08  5,000  >  was  held  ai  home,  and  440.000.000 
yen  1*210.340.000)  abroad.  There  are  indication-  of 
a  still  further  increase  in  the  accumulation  of  ^pecie, 
and  the  authorities  expect  that  it  will  c;o  beyond 


266  JAPAN    AT   TIIK    CROSS    ROADS 

700,000,000  yen  (^348,950,000)  before  the  end  of  the 
year. 

In  no  direction  has  Japanese  progress  been  more 
marked  than  in  the  wide  extension  of  lier  shipping 
interests.  In  this  respect,  more  than  in  any  other.  Japan 
resembles  (ireat  Britain,  and  it  i>  in  this  field,  more  than 
in  any  other,  that  this  country  will  find  the  competition 
with  Japan  greatly  increased  after  the  war.  It  may 
nut,  therefore,  be  without  interest  to  give  a  short  rt'^unit' 
of  the  development  of  tin-  Japanese  mercantile  marine. 

.\VJii  1st  it  is  not  correct,  as  sentimental  historians  have 
claimed,  that  there  was  regular  maritime  connection 
between  North  America  and  Japan  in  the  Middle  Ages, 
it  is  true-  that  until  the  seventeenth  century  there  was 
oversea  commerce  from  Japan  to  the  China  Coa-st,  and 
during  the  -ixteenth  and  part  of  the  seventeenth  centuries 
the  Japanese  carried  on  a  considerable  trade  with  the 
Philippines,  Cambaya.  Java,  the  Moluccas,  and  India. 

The  first  Englishman  to  arrive  in  Jap. in  was  \\"ill 
Adams,  of  Gillingham,  Kent,  pilot  of  the  Dutch  Mast 
India  Company's  DC  I. it  file,  which  was  wrecked  on  the 
P.un^o  Coast  on  Ajiril  i  o,  I'-oo.  Mo-t  of  the  pilots  in 
tin-  Hutch  M-rvice  \\ere  Englishmen  who  had  sailed  with 
llav.kins,  Drake.  Cavendi-h,  and  Lam  -aster,  and  of  whose 
knowledge  and  daring  the  "  Mynheers  "  were  glad  to 
avail  themselves,  when  they,  too,  decided  to  ignore  the 
I'.ipal  Dull  of  140,},  whi<  h  a-piied  to  ;^iant  to  Sp.nn  and 
Portugal  the  ri«  lies  of  the  Indies.  ,\\".i!l  Adams  \\as  a 
<  hara<  ter  who---  name  is  ^\\\\  honoured  in  Japan. 
Almost  the  last  function  the  la:<-  Sir  Claude  MacDon.ihl 
attend'  d  before  \\v  ating  the  po-t  of  Ambassador  at  1  ok\o 
in  1<>12.  was  the  unveiling  of  a  monument  to  his  memory 
at  the  >|x>t  on  the  shore  of  Tokvo  Hay  \vhere  the  j»ilot 
l.ni'leil  after  th'-  D(  /  it  /  if.  pat  lied  and  rejiaiied,  had 
b'-en  tou<-d  around  to  \"eilo.  I'oku.'.awa  b-.a  U,  founder 
of  'he  l.i  I  and  great"-!  of  ;h"  Sh«  >i;un.i!e  .,  jefu-c-d  to 

allow  Ad.nn  to  retuin  in  I'.uinjM-.  and  k«-j>t  him  near 
liini  .1  •  hi  i  onhdeiitial  advi  -er  on  cornnien  i.i!  and  foreign 
matter-..  A  pilot  shall  not  be  uithoul  ho:.o-.:r  in  the 


FINANCE,    INDUSTRY,   AND   COMMERCE     267 

land  of  his  shipwreck,  and  in  time  Adams  became  a 
landed  proprietor,  lord  over  li\  encore  slaves,  and  a  rich 
man  with  a  street  named  after  him. 

It  was  not  until  1011  that,  spurred  on  by  the  news 
of  many  Dutch  successes,  the  Mast  India  Company  ordered 
Captain  John  Lewis,  who  commanded  that  year's  expe- 
dition to  the  East,  to  continue  his  voyage  from  the 
factory  at  liantam  to  the  Island  of  Firando.  He  took 
his  flagship,  The  CVmv,  appropriately  laden  with  700 
sacks  of  pepper,  and,  with  a  complement  of  84,  includ- 
ing one  "  Japoii  "  and  four  blacks,  arrived  at  Hirado 
on  June  II,  1013.  lie  obtained  a  charter  to  found  a 
factory,  but,  contrary  to  Adams's  advice,  located  it  at 
Hirado  by  the  side  of  the  Dutchmen's.  Little  wonder 
that,  after  ten  years  and  a  debit  balance,  it  was  closed 
down,  and  would  have  been  forgotten  but  that  Cocks,  the 
factor,  introduced  "  pottatos  "  into  Japan.  "  Pottatos  " 
are  now  a  staple  food  of  the  country. 

Shortly  after  the  closure  llidetada,  who  had  succeeded 
to  the  Shogunate,  became  obsessed  with  the  idea  that 
Spain  intended  to  absorb  the-  Far  East,  and  that  Christi- 
anity was  only  a  means  to  that  end.  He  had  certainly 
arguments  in  his  favour,  not  least  of  all  the  accusations 
preferred  by  the  Dutch  and  Kngiish  traders  against  their 
Catholic  rivals.  Hidetada  was  a  gentleman  who  never 
made  two  mouth! ills  of  a  cherry.  Having  decided  that 
Christianity  was  harmful,  he  stopped  it  oil  good  and 
hard.  He  expelled  the  priests,  and  those  who  objected 
he  killed.  lie  forbade  the  Christian  propaganda  and 
exterminated  the  converts.  He  then  drove  out  all 
Spaniards,  and,  finding  that  the  Portuguese  were  also 
Catholics,  he  expelled  them  as  well  :  when  the  Governor 
of  Macao  thought  that  there  had  been  a  mistake  and  sent 
a  ship  with  a  mission  on  board  to  inquire,  he  cut  otT  the 
heads  ot  every  member  ot  the  mission  and  of  the  crew, 
bar  two  cabin-boys,  and  sent  the  last-named  back  to 
assure  the  Governor  that  he  had  heard  right  on  the  first 
occasion.  The  English  having  quitted,  the  Dutch  alone 
remained  to  be  dealt  with,  and  as  they  were  not  Catholics, 


268  JAPAN    AT   TIIK   CROSS    ROADS 

but  I'rote-tant-,  they  w<  re  all  moved  to  De.-hima.  an 
i-land  near  Xa:;M-aki,  where  a  factory  wa-  e-tabli-hed 
(in  quarantine,  as  it  were),  and  one  .-hip  per  annum 
allowed  to  arrive.  So  murh  for  the  foreigner-  and  then- 
trade  with  Japan.  To  handle  hi-  own  people  \\a-  not 
more  difficult  lor  a  thorouyh-jjoin^  autocrat  like  Hule- 
t.ida.  "  ll  you  -o  abroad  and  brini;'  home  bad  habit- 
like  tin-  '  diabolical  religion,'  '  he  told  them,  '  \oii 
-han't  x«i  .ibroad  at  all."  Idem  jt'dt.  A  law  w.i-  i  — ued 
forbidding  any  fa]'aiH--e  to  leave  the  «  ountry  under 
penalty,  it  he  returned,  of  something'  in  <»il.  terminating 
with  beheading,  and,  in  <  a-e  he  >hould  not  return,  the 
execution  of  all  In-  relative.-.  And,  further,  -o  that  no 
Japane-'-  tould  i;o  abroad,  it  wa-  lorbiddc-n  for  any 
Japatle-e  -hip-  except  the  (Jo^/l llin-HlUU'  <  ve.--cN  \\ltll 
vermilion  charter-  i  to  -ail  to  foreign  port-,  and  even 
the-e  were  withdrawn  after  a  tew  years.  And  -o  that  no 
Japanese  -hip  could  -ail  tar  aiield  it  wa-  forbidden  to 
build  a  ve--el  ol  o\  -,-r  ;oo  kol;u,  or  \\ith  more  than  one 
ma-t.  or  \vith  other  than  a  lou!-.-haped  -tern,  \\hiih  let 
the  water  iii  it  the  wave-  were  mote  than  ripple-,.  So 
llidi'ada  re-juia'ed  Japaiie-e  -hippine,  oil  the  fate  ol  the 

01  eail     111     ord'-r    to    a\o]d     tile     Wl!e>    ot     tiie      [e-int      I'atliel-- 

a:id  to  -a\e  hi-  pi  ople  Iroin  the  damnation.-  ol  the 
l\enai--ali'  e  pur.uatorv . 

'I  he  u  ritinij--  ol  the  1  )-;t  h  t  o!oni-t-  and  ot  the  Spani-h 
aii'i  1'ort;:.  Me-e  jn  ie-t  -  tell  u-  a  esood  d-  al  of  the  ex  Tent  of 
japalM  -'-  -hippin.,  illleie-t>  at  tha'  tillie.  \\V  jearil  that 

tin    I  e      V.  •'!  e       I  <  ,    ',      \  (•--  el  -     o|      l)\er       100     It.      l.'l      length     U  hi'    ll 

\\  i  i  e  |ji  en,ed  ;-i  trad--  abroad.  \\'.<-  i;no\s  that  th'ii- 
v,  i  re  i  ;,(,oo  "  |.ij»o;i,  '  :n  I.u/on,  ai.d  a  L;  I  -  .it  number 
inoje  in  the  Mr, in  (a-  and  India.  \\>  knou  that  I  >a\  \  -, 
the  Lh/abelhan  i-\jdoier,  \\  ,  -  kiM'd  in  a  ti  ,ht  betueen 
111:  I  I'.'i  r  a!id  / //<  /  .«f;i  r\  \\'!:,'f:  and  a  Japuie-e 
HK-p  hant  j'liik  oil  l'.ata\ia.  I  he  Ma-ao  leionh  teil  ho\\ 
lapaii'  -•  j  na?1  •  n;'e  1  :h'-  <  'iiina  S-  a  -  and  ho\\  tin-  |e  MI! 
l'io\  ;;..  ;.,!.  v.h-  n  h-  \\<  :r  .1  \  :  itin:;.  had  t  .  -  '  pa- 
poll  ho;:,  ill-  ,  h;,  t  loYi.-i  .  «  ..'  ..i  \  l<  .  -  I';.. 

,'      la  I.     in     a     !•'!'!      u  i  .!;•  !i     r  i      I    -  I  -, .      leiati         h<  >\\      the 


FINANCK,    INDUSTRY,    AND    COMMKRCK     269 

Japanese  junks  were  cornering  tin-  i  i<  e  trade  to  Manila  ; 
how  they  carried  tour  times  the  amount  of  silk  between 
Macao  and  ('hina  that  the  Portuguese  did  ;  and  how 
they  had  driven  the  Portuguese  out  of  the  ('odiin  trade, 
"a  most  < lamaging  trallic  lor  us."  \\V  learn  amongst 
other  items  ol  local  gossip  (and  "  loial  "  in  the  Far 
Fast  means  from  Singapore  to  \Iadi\o-toik),  that  in  the 
Japanese  marine  were  two  vessels  ol  complete  Furopean 
style,  ol  So  and  I  oo  tons  respecti\ely.  constructed  under 
the  supervision  of  \\"ill  Adams. 

There  is  abundant  evidence  that  the  shipbuilding  in- 
dustry was  at  that  time  ol  important  dimensions.  NV.heii 
Hideyoshi  invade<l  Korea  in  i  5<;j  it  meant  the  transpor- 
tation ol  over  joo.ooo  men  from  .\aiM>\a  to  Fu-an.  and 
consequently  the  provision  ot  se\-eral  thou-and  vessels. 
Again,  the  losses  admitted  by  the  Japanese  in  the  naval 
campaign  included  500  war  galleys.  The  war-hips  of 
those  days  had  ordinarily  two  ma-ts,  ^o  to  ,5  oars  a-ide, 
each  with  siv  rowers,  and  numerous  cannon  for  the  di-- 
charge  of  shot,  lire  arrows  and  incendiary  missiles.  I''rom 
the  naval  point  ot  view  the  victory  ol  the  Korean-  on 
the  water  is  ot  interest,  as  it  was  due  to  the  lirst  armoured 
vessel  of  which  hi-tory  tell-,.  This  -hip  was  imented  b\ 
\'i  Sun--in.  Admiral  of  ('hull.i,  and  constructed  according 
to  the  pritici|)les  of  high  -p:-ed  and  armament  which  re-main 
to-day  the  basis  ot  sea  power. 

It  w.i-  c.ilk'd  tlic  /v";;/-w/;;,  or  "  tnrtdisc-bo.il."  It-  .^rj.iU'-t  pvCiili.ti  itv 
\v:is  .1  c:n'\T(l  deck  i -I  i:i>n  p'.u.'-  lil<i'  the  k.ck  ni  a  ;  >i  li  ii-c.  \\';:ic!i 
allorded  co'.npk'U'  j"1;  >tcc!p'r.  t'1  iiLj'ilfr-  :rui  lowers.  In  the  ln;\s  u.i> 
;i  (Ir.iuon'-  ln'.ul  ol  iron  \vi;ii  oprn  iiU'-atli,  ilireugli  w!:icli  c.ir.n  >n  C"tiKl 
hi-  iliscli.u\i»cil.  In  tiu-  -tt.-i  n  \v.i>  .uuitlur  ojvning  in  tin-  -'i.ipc  ot"  .1 
torioi>c-t.ul,  .uul  ihcri1  wri\-  MX  c.i:i'.i'>n  pr.;  on  each  -:dr.  l)n  tup  ot 
tiic  cuiAed  deck  w.i-  a  n..:  row  walk  tioni  -!i-;n  \<>  -tern,  and  <  nc  ai;nd- 
-liip-  from  -idc  to  >!>!  •.  I-',\\'i'y  otiicr  par;  .  :  'he  carved  dick  1".  !-!!•  d 
with  i'.on  -pikt-s.  -o  t'.iat  anv  i-nciny  ..:;e:nptii!L:  t>  1^'ard  v.^.iid  tind 
hi;n-eit  iniiuediateix'  !'.;:pal'\l  nil  a  -core  •  t  ^pi-ar-!uad-.  O\vr.;^  lu  ti:e 
iron  deck  the  ve--el  \v.:-  impervioas  to  aUciiipts  to  set  it  aii:c. 

The  hulk  ol  tli;s  vessel  \\a-  di<ro\-ered  in  tlie  .-and- 
at  KO--IUI  some  thirt\"  odd  vears  a^o,  and  formed  the 


2;o     JAPAN  AT  THK  CROSS  ROADS 

subject    of    re]>orts    by    the    British    and    American    naval 
authorities. 

Sonic  idea  of  the  facilities  for  shipbuilding  in  Japan 
at  that  tune  may  be  gained  from  a  letter  written  in  \<>2o 
by  Cocks  the  Envji-h  factor  at  llirado.  He  say-.  : 

There  is  ^i  cat  ordinance  both  of  bra-<e  and  iron,  with  powdct  and 
shott,  ijood,  chcapc.  Am!  fur  piovition  ot  •Oiipint;  fit  her  tvnibei  01 
planke-,  with  ma-tes  yaide-,  or  what  cl-e  [«  make  .1  shipp  with  j^ood 
c.irpente:  ~-  to  \v<  'i  k  it,  a-  al->>  ro/en  or  pitch  enough,  bui  no  l.u  i .  . \l--o 
there  is  heinpi. ,  nulilicicnt  t(>  in:ike  i..il>k>  .nul  ti:eni  \v!ii(.h  c.in 
rea-onablv  well  \\  rk  it.  And  non  woi  k.  ne.tU  • .  .imi  such  lyke.  there 
i->  noe  want,  and  -:nith-  thai  can  make  ancors  ..I  !iani'-r  w.  ii  k  of  ^n  or 
30  C'  wi^ht  yf  need  be;  foi  -;Kh  have  l>vn  made  for  carickt-s  winch 
came  from  Aui.icou  to  Nani^.ixuiuc'. 

All  thi>  .ui'i-at  de\cl«>i>mc:it  of  ^hippini;'  and  shipbuilding 
was  Middcnly  ^topj>cd  when  Hidetada  dn  ided  that  neither 
hi^  own  nor  lu>  >nbjet  ts'  >ouU  were  to  be  >a\ed  by 
the  Je-uit>.  and  a<  < ordi:i_L;l>  put  lii^  «  uuntr\  into  ijuarantine 
for  a  couple  ot  centuries. 

It  wa>  not  until  i;">5>,  when  Commander  Perry's 
"-black  ve»el-,  "  opened  the  c<u;n!r\,  that  Jon-i^'ii  inter- 

colir-e     \\M^     I'e-tinied     and     atleinpt-,     \\eic    made     to     re\l\<- 

shipbuilding  and  the  mercantile  marine.  In  llii-^  re\-iv.d 
forei^nier-^  had  a  .^n-at  -hare.  Putiatm.  <  aptam  ot  the 
Ru^-ian  \\ar-hip  l):<uhi,  ulr.ih  ua^  wrecki'd  at  Shimoda 
in  the  earthquake  and  tidal  wave  of  i.S;.},  taught  tin 
Japanese  how  tu  build  schooners  a  t  \  pe  of  ve>>el  \\hiih 
be.  atlie  \ery  popular  III  the  coaMHi:;  trade.  In  1^5^ 
th"  I>utch  (io\crnnient  ^"ave  t!ie  Sim  ;un  a  .-mall  \\ar-lnp, 
and  in  1  "  ^  7  (.>uei-;i  \i  loii.i  ;.;ave  him  a  ^teain  \.nht. 
In  i'-;5';  the  N.i  'a  aki  ( ioverpin-'tit  !)•>  k\aid  wa->  opened 
under  I)-;'i!i  mana.'.emeni,  and  ;n  succc-.  i\e  \e.ir->  the 
\ard-  at  Vokoliam.i.  \'ol-.o  uka.  and  th<-  en;;ineei  inr,  -hop, 
at  l-hikawajima.  all  under  torei.'Ti  mana;.;eme:it .  In  iH'  j. 
.i  -mail  Wooden  wu  ln;>.  ill-  (  hiv  ."',//;/'/.  A.I-  launi  hed 
at  Na;.-.a-aki.  In  th--  lift-  «  n  \eai-.  jiom  i  .-'.;•.)  -.,>  i  SS  ;. 
.:'.'.  > t  e. une r -,  w-  •  n  •  I  > '  1 1 '. '  .1:1!  ;  ;  i  i  u n k  ,  and  «  hooner  •> . 
In  th'-  latter  yai  a  law  wa  >  pa  ed  torbiddlli;;  the  (on- 


FINANCE,    INDUSTRY,    AND   COMMERCE     271 

struct  ion  of  junks  of  over  500  koku,  so  as  to  encourage 
the  building'  of  steamers. 

In  the  previous  year  the  Mit-.u  Hishi  Company  had 
been  formed  and  had  taken  over  the  Nagasaki  Dockyard. 
The  Ishikavvajima  works  had  already  pa-^cd  to  private 
ownership  ;  an  Englishman,  tin-  late  Mr.  E.  II.  Hunter, 
had  founded  the  Osaka  Iron  Works;  and  in  iSS6  the 
Kawasaki  Dockyard  had  been  established  at  Kobe. 

In  i<S<;(>  tin-  Shipbuilding  Encouragement  Law  was 
passed,  to  remain  in  force  for  fifteen  years,  when  it  was 
renewed  with  slight  modifications.  The  subsidy  was  only 
applicable  to  steel  vessels,  of  which  up  to  that  time 
only  two  had  been  built  in  Japan.  The  result  was  a 
phenomenal  advance*  in  construction.  Whereas  in  iSo,6 
the  largest  vessel  built  had  been  of  1,500  tons,  the  first 
vessel  ordered  after  the  passage  of  the  law  was  of  6,000 
tons.  .Within  twenty  years  the  same  yards,  which  once- 
regarded  6,000  tons  as  a  dangerous  risk,  are  turning 
out  with  equanimity  15,000-1011  liners  and  30,000-1011 
super-Dreadnoughts  and  battle-cruisers.  The  payments 
under  the  Shipbuilding  Subsidy  Law  of  1909  are  as 
follows  : — 

O  A^S  A  Ci  v-s  I: 

Stc.mi-Oiip^  u  ill)  a  ( )Uu  r 

minimum     nl      50  \e>^cN 

bui  Ih  -  <>r    i    K  i  !li 
pc:   it*)  '."iis  sjni>s 
Yen 

1.     (Ocean-going)    23  per  ton 

II.      iNYarSea>) 21 

III.  ((.'oastini;)    19 

IV.  (Smooth  waters)    i.j       „ 

The  manner  in  which  a  mercantile  marine  has  been 
created  and  developed  is  no  less  notable  and  creditable. 
The  determination  to  make  Japan  a  country  of  the  world 
instead  of  one  outside,  it  was  an  old  political  argument 
of  the  (faimyo,  who  opposed  the  rule  of  the  Shogunate. 
Some  of  them,  especially  the  great  Princes  of  Sat>uma 
and  Choshu,  had  long  carried  on  an  illicit  intercourse 
with  foreign  countries  through  the  Luchti  Islands,  and 


JAPAN    AT    Till-:    CROSS    ROAHS 

\vere  fully  awake  to  the  profit-  to  be  made  by  foreign 
trade.  1  he  pioneer-  ot  the  Meiji  Mia,  and  none  ot 
them  more  than  the  much-lamented  Man|ui-  Inouye, 
ret  o'/m/ed  thai  commercial  and  maritime  expan-ion  \vere 
a-  nece--arv  a-  politi'a!  or  military  domination  if  Japan 

Ueje    to    be     IV    (l^Ill/ed    a-     b'-JIl^     Oil    aU    e(|Uallt\      U!tll    other 

1'ouei-.  i  hi-  remain-  true  to-day,  and  in  no  direction 
i-  the  Tok\"  Foreign  <  Mine  more  a<ti\e  than  in  findim; 
fre-Ii  rnaikei-  i-u  Japane-e  export-  and  new  route-  tor 
Japane-e  -{•  ainer-. 

It  ua-  not.  ho\v<\er.  until  the  early  'eighties  ot  the 
la-t  century  that  it  wa-  po>uble  to  devote  much  atten- 
iiori  to  the  expan-i«n  of  the  menaiitile  marine.  By  that 
time  1  to.  Yama;;ata.  and  their  colleague--  had  reco^m/ed 
the  likelihood  ot  Japan  fi^htine,  ('luna  one  day  in  the 
future.  It  i-  a  cardinal  principle  ol  Japanese  policy 
that  the  -,<>il  of  1  )at  Nip])on  mu-t  not  be  polluted  b\ 
i:iva-ioi).  'I  he  corollary  i-  that  in  ca>e  ot  a  foreign  war 
an  expi'«litionary  tone  mu-t  be  -cut  abroad.  The 
p  rob  1. -in  ;o  t>e  ta>  ed  wa-  one  of  1 1  a  i  -)  MM  tat  ion  .  In  1^71 
the  (\\a-aki  family  had  -tailed  the  Mit-u  I'5i-hi  Steam- 
-hip  '  Minpany.  \\!u  h  UM-  in  receipt  ot  a  -mall  -ub-idy 
from  th'-  '..,n\ '  ;  nni'  nt  tor  it-  Sha:  ;.;hai  -ervice.  A  le\v 
\-ar-  lat'-r  a  rr.al  •  ompaiiy  hid  been  e-tabli-hed,  the 
Kyido  I  n\u  Yu-en  l\'a:-ha,  and  a  late  uar  -et  in.  I  he 
t\\o  compame-.  fnu;;h'  eai  h  oth<  i  toi'th  and  nail,  and  the 
l!  ;ht  v.a,  i  on-ideiably  embitt--ied  by  political  con-idera- 
t;on^  bcin;.;  importecl  mto  the  contro\er^y.  I-inalK,  in 
i  .  ;.  inlhieiii  e  \\a-  bio;i;;ht  to  bear,  and  the  tuo  rival- 
1  c.  down  t'  ..;«-'h'-r  and  iiiiali;amated  into  the  Nipjio 
Yu  i  n  K  a '  •  ha  |  i !  -an  Mail  Steam -hi  j>  C<  ini;  MU\  >,  \\  lu<  h 
r-ruain-  to  ila\  th--  pnnu'-r  [<  am-hip  i  mnpany  <  •(  th<- 
At  th'-  time  of  th'-  ama;  '.amation  the  N  \'l\  .  had 
:.  •  if  -  ',-',  \<  ,  el-.  :ii'a  di'i:;  '  .}.  \''^  'o:.-.  A  i;"\<  rnment 
i  !'  \\  a  -  ob' allied  t1  >i  t  he  i  .:  i  •  ;a:  ;••  i 't  inal  i  >  a 'id  t  oil  • 
i  ilia!  on  iniMovcinent-  and  add.tion^  to  th,-  lie.-;.  'I  he 
••'.'.'  ua  if  at  v.'r'i  ill-  \var  ui'h  <  luna  bi'oke  out 


n 


I  -•;:.    '!)       '.     ,..,,-    .     ,,   ,,    .,!,', 
•h  ,-  mil,    i,i     i   ;<)  '»    o    i,,: 


FINANCE,    INDUSTRY,   AND   COMMERCE     27 

The  Os.'ik.'i  Shoscn  Kaisha  was  formed  in    1884,  and 
was,  in  fact,  an  amalgamation  of  some  seventy  different 
owners,  who  had  until  then  been  endeavouring'  with  vary- 
ing  success    to    cut    each    other's    throats    in    the    coastal 
trade.     The  mutual  difficulty  in  making  both  ends  meet 
brought   them    together   in  a  co-operative  scheme,   which 
widened  into  an  amalgamation  as  a  limited  company  with 
a    capital    of     1,400,000    yen.      The    ileet    at    that    time 
consisted  of  a  hundred  small  coasters.     The  Government 
granted  a  subsidy  on  terms  similar  to  those  given  to  the 
N.V.K.,    so    that   at   the   opening   of   hostilities   in    1894 
the  authorities  took  up  12,500  tons  from  the  Company,  the 
boats  being  all  good  sea-going  craft.  As  both  the  N.V.K. 
and   the    O.S.K.   owed   their   establishment    to   cut-throat 
competition,  it  might  be  assumed  that  they  would  in  their 
turn   compete    with   each  other.      This    is    not    so  ;     their 
spheres   hardly    clash.      The   N.V.K.    is   particularly   de- 
voted to  the  North  of  Japan  and  the  East  Pacific  coast- 
board,    whilst    the-    O.S.K.    is    essentially    interested    in 
the    home    provinces,    the    fertile    and    industrial    centre 
of      which      Osaka,      Kyoto,      and      Nagoya      are      the 
capitals. 

Up  till  the  period  of  the  China  .W^ar  the  steamship 
services  abroad  were  limited  to  Shanghai  and  Korea. 
The  successful  conclusion  of  the  war  and  the  post  bcllnm 
indemnity  boom  gave  an  enormous  impetus  to  commercial 
expansion.  Of  this  the  steamship  companies  were  not 
slow  to  take  advantage.  The  N.V.K.  opened  in  i8<;5 
a  monthly  service  to  Europe,  and  in  the  following  year 
lines  to  Tacoma,  Bombay,  and  Australia.  The  O.S.K. 
inaugurated  services  up  the  Vang-tse,  to  Formosa, 
the  (iulf  of  Pechili,  and  to  Hong  Kong  and  South 
China. 

The  war  had  another  very  important  result.  The 
Japanese  have  never  failed  to  recogni/e  the  uses  of 
publicity,  and  the  Press  campaign  which  followed  the 
Treaty  of  Shimono-cki,  and  has  not  yet  ended,  made  of 
Japan  a  Mecca  for  tourists,  a  fate  which  she  most 
thoroughly,  deserves,  thanks  to  her  wonderful  scenery., 

iS 


2;4  JAI'AN    AT    Till-:    CROSS    ROADS 

The  touri-t  traffic  is  e-timated  to  be  worth  U  '',000.000 
}KT  aniuiiii,  and  tho-r  who  have  -erii  the  i;reai  liners  of 
the  P.M.S.,  C.r.K.,  G.X.R.  and  T.K.K.  d;-<  liar-in- 
hundred-  of  '^lobe-trotting  Americans  on  to  the  hatolxi 
at  Yokohama  ran  well  credit  it.  It  was  to  capture  a 
slice  of  this  tratlir  that  the  1'ovo  I\i-en  Ka;-ha  was 
founded  in  I'-'o.^'.  The  nervier  was  H 011:4  Kon-  and  or 
M.  i;:il.  i,  Shanghai.  Japan,  Honolulu.  San  I  -'ram  i-t  o.  and 
vice  vcr^n,  and  three  fa-t  liner-  .were  built  in  I'.n^l.ind 
and  put  on  the  route.  Later  three  very  fine  turbine 
flyers,  built  in  Japan,  were  added.  They  are  the 
^/linyo  Mara,  C/n'rt)  Marti,  and  I\'H\'O  Miirti,  and  they 
are  ccrtaiiily  tlie  three  nm-t  coniJ'ortaiil  •  boat>  on  tin- 
North  1'aeili'-.  The  Chivo  Md'U  ha-  -ince  if.  en  wrcekeil. 

I)urinu;'  tin  Ru->o-Jai>ane-t-  War  all  the-e  >  oinjianies 
[)crfonii'-tl  valuabl"  services  to  the  Stale  in  -up])l\'ini; 
tran-jiorts,  ho--;-ital  >!ii;is.  and  auxiliary  irin-er-.  Afier 
tli'-  'J'rraty  «)!  I'oi  t -nm'a'li  the  iner.  an;ile  marine  received 
i;reat  expansion,  and  it  ha-  now  bet  nine  the  op<  n  Imjie 
o!  |apane.-e  o\\?ie:-  to  capture  the  I'aeilie  (lade.  Ill 
th:  de-ire  they  i;a\c,  and  quit:  ri.ditiv.  the  sup]K»rt  of 
th"'r  ;.,o\  eniin«  ni .  There  i-  iurhi;ij£  vdn- h  the  Japane-e 
a\i!!iori;ii-^  eon-ider  so  important  a-  th"  e\pan-:on  ot  die 
inx'i-i!)!'1  nnjxirt-  o!  the  country.  I  hi-  !:<•>  at  the  bottom 
of  a  ;..  ood  manv  <  uriou-  move-,  on  their  part,  but  the 
tr-u'di  i  that  th"  linan  i  il  eondition-  ol  tin-  (otintiy  are 

!o  pat  it  nnldl.  -o  in<  on\ '-nieiit  tiiat  ea  -v  money  must 
b-  obtain' d,  1:1  ho.vever  ;-mall  iju-intiti'--  and  e\en  at 

the  i  0-t  ol  .  i;;(  i:  on  !/mi;  torei;.;li  IcellllL',  .  I  hat  It  may 
plov  e\|,  ••;  |\c  !!!";•  '.  ill  the  elid  1-  be-ide  ihe  j'oint  ; 
I!  I  IlllIM'-dlate  Hi-  iney  . 

in    i,'-;  »•'      h"  La  .\   io;    di'     Lii' oura;;    me".l  ot    \a\  lu.'.atioii 

\\a       pa      •'.        it     v.  a      .inrnd<-d     in      loo-j    a".d     remains, 

;i  ditlv    n,o  iiin-d..     in     fon  <•    n  i-da>  .       A-  <  onlim.     to    th- 

!,;    t    \..\v.'   lii'  i      v.  a  -  a   :;enei.il    -ui>   idy   loi    .ill   o,  i  ali-;;oini; 

!-,   p!1:     an   additional    <nb-id\    tor  \<      el-,  on     pe(  UK 

lo-r       .        In      \>><><>,    lioss- V  r,     thi-     law    v.  a       alt'ied       <>    a- 

to    aj)j,ly    only    to    Jaji.ii:-  ^    budt    Meam- i      ot     1<     .    than 

tift'-en    \eal      "t    a"«  .    o(    .c     j.  ,t   :  .    to.r-    •   i . ,     ,    ( (1    .1 


FINANCE,    INDUSTRY,   AND   COMMERCE     275 

minimum  speed  of  12  knots,  and  plying  regularly  between 
specified  termini.      The  rate  of  subsidy  is  : 

50  sen  (=is.  o{d.)  per  ton  ^ross  per  thousand  miles,  />/«<$  10  per  cent. 
per  knot  over  12  knots,  mtnux  5  per  cent,  for  each  year  over  five  years 
of  age. 

Japanese-owned  hut  foreign-built  vessels  under  five  years  of  njje  if 
employed  \vilh  the  consent  of  the  authorities  may  receive  one-half  of 
the  above  snbsidv. 

Japanese-owned  and  built  vessels  constructed  to  plans  approved  by 
the  naval  and  military  authorities  receive  an  addition  of  25  per  cent,  of 
the  above  rates. 

The  above  law  expired  in  1914,  and  as  a  result  of 
the  opposition  to  the  generous  scale  on  which  subsidies 
had  been  granted,  modifications  were  introduced.  By 
the  Law  of  1915  the  amounts  payable  are: 

OVKRSKAS    SKKYICK    SUBSIDY. 


No.    Of 

Min. 

Services 

Route- 
European     ... 
N.  American 

Comp.inv 
X  Y  K 

Steam- 
ships 
I  i 

Min. 

Speed 
Knots 

I  T 

Year 

Amount 
Yen 

X.Y.K. 

/  o 
•     5o°°     • 

...         14        . 

..     26       I 

,, 

O.S.K. 

4     ... 

5,500     . 

..        14        . 

..       26 

2,924.777 

n 

T.K.K. 

3     ••• 

13,500     . 

..      IS     . 

..     14       ) 

S.  American 
Australian    ... 
South  Seas   ... 

T.K.K. 
\  Y  K. 

3 
3 

0,000 

>OoO 

13     . 
15 

..       6     .. 

12 

.       303.  <><*> 
183,206 
28o,OOO 

Xan-yo  Y.K. 

4     ... 

3,200     . 

..    14    . 

..     16     ... 

COASTING    AND    NKAK    SEAS    SKKYICK    SIT.SIDY. 


Yang-t<e  ... 

XNshin  Y.K.     . 

..     Shangai-Hankow  Ichang,  etc.     ••• 

Sh.mo.ii     ... 

X.Y.K  

..      Kobc-Shan^.ii           

N.  China  ... 

X.Y.K  

..      Kobe-Ne\veluv:ui^'  ... 

I).  lit  en 

,     O.S.K  

Kobc-Cheinulp"-Daricn 

Hokkaido  .., 

,     X.Y.K.,  etc.     . 

..     Kokkaido,  Sayhalien  and  Kuriles  ... 

Islands      ... 

X.Y.K.,  etc.       . 

.     Uijasawaiii,  Luchu-,  Boains 

Owing  to  the  tactics  of  the  Opposition,  the  Diet  was 
dissolved  in  December,  1914,  without  the  new  subsidy 
law  being  passed,  and  the  above  grants  were  made  by 
the  Cabinet  under  the  authority  of  an  Imperial  Ordinance 
'(equal  to  an  Order  in  Council).  After  the  General  Elec- 


276  JAPAN    AT   THE   CROSS    ROADS 

tion  in  May,  1915,  the  Diet  approved  of  a  new  law, 
to  be  in  force  for  four  years  to  1920,  and  the  figures  then 
authorized,  including1  those  for  1915,  which  were  con- 
firmed, showed  a  reduction  of  no  less  than  17,500,000 
yen  on  the  figures  for  the  preceding  'five  years.  This 
drastic  change  demonstrates  to  a  certain  extent  the  op|x>- 
sition  felt  in  Japan  to  the  subsidies.  'The  Ini|x-rial 
Government  (both  the  Imperial  Household  and  the  most 
prominent  statesmen  are  heavily  involved  in  Japanese 
shipping  finance)  lias  protected  the  companies  at  the 
expense  of  the  traders.  The  former  have  been  bolstered 
up  to  a  fictitious  state  of  prosperity.  The  subsidies  and 
bounties  received  from  the  treasury  consistently  exceed 
the  net  profits  of  the  companies.  1'revious  to  the 
outbreak  of  the  European  ,\Var  doubts  were  freely 
expressed  as  to  the  future  of  Japanese  shipping,  and 
there  need  be  no  hesitation  in  quoting  [x)pular  opinion 
that  the  outbreak  of  hostilities  was  a  godsend.  The 
removal  ol  German  and  Austrian  shipping  from  the  face 
of  the  water>  and  the  severe  demands  of  the  JJritish 
Admiralty  for  tonnage  practically  left  the  Pacific 
trade  in  Japanese  hands.  High  freights  have  given 
larger  profit^.,  and  increased  working  expenses  have  not 
been  so  noticeable  in  the  Orient  a^  in  the  <>ceident. 
The  scarcity  of  tonnage  in  the  Atlantic  ha.  enabled 
Japanese  owners  to  employ  their  >hips  in  n<-\v  trades. 
For  example,  the  \.Y.K.  are  trading  to  New  York,  and 
the  (>.S.K.  to  Kurojx:.  In  addition,  -.nine  extraordinary 
bargain-,  have  been  driven  in  Mvond-hand  tonnage, 
ves>el-,  bnnglit  from  I'Zurojx-  |ii-t  b<  tore  or  alter  war 
broke  ont  Iwing  -.nM  at  an  advam  e  of  Joo  and  ><><>  pci 

that    some 
U    in 
IIIL;!I 
i'    hoin 

\  an{a;'e<uis     to     ih<- 
nnl\      ''-i/inur     l<»ng 
i  otinter;n  t    the    e\il 


FINANCE,    INDUSTRY,    AND   COMMERCE     277 

effects  of  too  much  subsidy.  No  reader  should  imagine, 
however,  that  the  time  has  rorne  for  him  to  speculate  in 
N.Y.K.  shares.  Jle  might  be  well  advised  to  do  so  if 
he.  could,  but  as  no  foreigner  is  allowed  to  hold  any, 
he  is  protected  against  himself.  This  regulation  is  one 
of  the  shrewdest  points  in  Japanese  administration.  There 
is  a  long  list  of  semi-official,  heavily  subsidized  con- 
cerns— banks,  railways,  steamship  companies— from  which 
foreigners  are  barred.  In  addition,  Japanese  law  pro- 
hibits foreign -owned  vessels  from  carrying  cargo  or 
passengers  between  Japanese  ports.  .WJiilst  the  latter 
regulation  only  hits  the  native  shipper,  the  former  is 
one  which  ought  to  be  imitated  in  Great  Britain,  where 
it  would  do  much  to  expel  German  influence  from  our 
commercial  circles. 

An  important  company  which  has  not  been  mentioned 
is  the  Nisshin  Risen  Kaisha  (Japan-China  Steamship 
Company)  which  was  formrd  in  i<;o<\  and  was  an 
amalgamation  of  four  rival  services  in  Chinese  waters. 
They  were  the  Hunan  Steamship  Company,  the;  Daito 
Steamship  Company  (both  Japanese  concerns),  and  the 
Vang-tse  services  of  the  X.V.K.  and  O.S.K.  This 
Company  now  has  some  30,000  tons  afloat  and  has  an 
ever-increasing  share  of  the  Vang-tse  and  China  coastal 
trade.  It  is  an  im{X)rt;int  consideration  in  the  foreign 
policy  of  the  Tokyo  Foreign  Office,  as  all  the  world 
became  aware  when  it  was  put  forward  as  a  purchaser 
of  the  China  Merchants'  Steamship  Company  during  the 
Revolution  of  1912,  a  deal  that  was  very  fortunately 
frustrated.  Other  imjxmant  lines —important  politically 
more  than  commercially — are  those  to  South  America 
and  the  South  Seas.  That  to  the  nitrate  ports  has  an 
additional  rat's  on  d'etre  in  the  efforts  made  to  find  satis- 
factory outlets  for  Japanese  emigration.  Various  attempts 
have  been  made  in  South  America,  but  without  any 
considerable  success  being  achieved.  Japanese  eyes  have 
been  turned  to  the  South  Seas  since  the  days  of  Voshida 
Shoin,  the  Choshu  patriot  who  was  executed  by  the  Shogun 
for  trying  to  leave  Japan  on  one  of  Perry's  ships. 


2;S  JAPAN    AT   THK    CROSS    ROADS 

Yo-hida  was  the  champion  of  a  vast  scheme  of  expansion 
beyond  the  seas,  which  included  the  absorption  of  Korea 
and  parts  of  China  and  of  the  inlands  of  the  South  Pacific. 
The  formation  in  1012,  under  government  au-piccs  of 
tlie  Nan-yo  Vusen  Kai-ha,  war,  only  a  step  towards  the 
realization  of  long-deferred  hopes,  to  which  another  step 
wa-  added  by  the  occupation  of  the  German  Hands 
last  winter. 

The  subsidi/ed  shipping1  i-  that  jx>rtion  of  Japan's 
mercantile  marine  with  which  the  foreign  public  is  mo-t 
fiimiliar.  But  it  i>  by  far  the  least  imjxtrtant  in  volume 
of  the  total  tonnage.  The  total  tonnage  of  the  mercan- 
tile marine  at  the  end  of  1914  was  1,577,025  tons  gro^s 
of  steam  tonnage,  and  513.244  tons  gro-s  of  sail,  exclud- 
ing' all  vessels  of  under  20  tons.  In  addition  there  were 
250,000  ton>  registered  at  Damn.  The  tonnage  engaged 
in  Japanese  waters  was  about  I  [  million,  and  on  tin- 
Korean  and  Chinese  (  oa-t-  about  three-quarters  of  a 
million,  the  rest  b'-ing  scattered  in  various  <juaner-  of 
the  globe.  In  addition,  at  the  outbreak  of  war  about 
2.000,000  ton-  of  fon  i;'ii  -hipping  wa-  under  charter  to 
Japanese  owner-.  The  mo-t  important  owner-  and  (  har- 
terer>  of  freight  -'teenier-  an-  the  Mit-ui  l'.t:->-an  ;  tin- 
Mit-u  I'Mii  ;  the  Hokkaido  Tanko  ..Steam-hip  and 
Colliery  Company)  ;  the  Su/i:ki  Coin;  any  of  Kobe  :  and 
the  I'kon  and  <>\a  linn-  in  the  eoa-ting  trad''.  Tin 
Mit>u  Mi-hi  and  th  •  M:t-ui  I'.u-^an  ate  the  two  greatest 
firm-  of  j.ipan,  th'-  iriation-  re -|.ei  ti\  dy  ot  the  Iwa-aki 
and  Mit-ui  families.  The  Mit-u  llMu  1'oik.anU  at 
Nagasaki  and  Kobe  are  ra -ilv  the  nn>-t  inijioi  tant  in 
'.In-  lountrv.  The  \a:;a-aki  yar-i  i  over-,  an  are  i  o| 
115  acre--,  with  a  water  f:o;ita,;e  ot  m-arlv  t\\o  mill-- 
Tin- rquiplneat  i-  thoio;;,h!\-  up  to  <la'e  ;  the  ma<  hlllcs 
and  tool-,  ari-  eh-iiri  ally  ilii\rii.  It-  i  ontributson  -.o  the 
m«-ri  antili-  HUNT-  irnlude  the  '/ <  ny<>  \Lir:i  and  ('/i:v<> 
Miiru  I  1.500  ton  i.  ot  ill'1  T.K  l\..  air!  til--  Kan:*  Marti 
and  a  mnnbrt  oi  m  t  <  ',i  li.vi  toi  th"  Kurop.-.m  and 
Ani'-ri  an  Iin«-  of  th--  \  .','  i;  .  .ml  (  )  S  K  i  or  the  n.ivy 
tin-  Mlt  u  I;i-hl  IMM-  a  Ion  ;  il  t  to  tii«  n  <  ledlt.  iln  hiding 


FINANVK,    INDl'STRV,    AM)    (OMMKKCK     .79 

torpedo  bunts,  destroyers  and  cruisers,  and  ending  with 
the  battle-cruiser  A'/r.'s/////^/,  completed  in  1915,  <i:'d  the 
//yu<rfi,  a  }o.ooo-ton  super-Dreadnought,  now  on  tin- 
stocks.  'I  he  Kobe  yard  is  mostly  devoted  to  mercantile 
construction  and  repair^,  for  which  latter  the  tuo  floating 
docks  ot  7,000  and  i  j.ooo  tons  respectively  come  in 
handy.  A-  an  instance  of  rapid  construction  by  this 
firm,  it  may  be  meniioned  iliat  in  \o\emher,  101.4, 
the  navy  placed  rush  orders  for  two  de-troy<T.s  with  the 
Mitsu  I'islii.  The  boat-;  were  laid  down  and  launched 
inside  of  fourte.i-n  week-. 

The  Kawa-aki  I  )o  kyard.  which  is  largely  under  the 
influence  and  administration  of  the  M.itsiikata  family, 
can  turn  out  anvthin;.;'  from  a  sl'-am  launch  to  a  battle- 
cruiser.  The  Y(t*i!/;<i  Marii,  one  of  the  craek  T.K.K. 
boat-;,  <  ame  from  hep',  as  also  several  of  the  <).S.K. 
Seattle  liners,  and  two  lo.ooo-ton  boats  are  now  in  hand 
for  the  N.Y.K.  Panama  service'.  In  navy  work  Kawa- 
saki has  a  proud  record.  In  i  <;  i  ^  tlie  battle-cruiser 
lliirnim  was  compleicd,  and  'he  Ycmtshiro,  naiiie  ship  of 
a  new  clu-vs  of  stiper-Dreadnou^lu^,  has  been  laid  down. 
The  |;:])inese  Prc-s  averts  tlial  ihe  ne\\~  t\"pe  v,  ill  opi'ii 
up  some  nc'w  idea-  in  na\\il  arcliiteciure.  AS  the  Japanese- 
claim  to  have  invnted  the  Dreadnought,  the  baltle- 
ci'iii-er  and  the  oceaii-LVoiau;"  de-iro\'er,  the  evolution  ot 
the  Yannt^liiro  will  be  awaited  v/itli  interest  by  naval 
architects  abroad.  1  In  TV  i-  a  Ka\\'a-aki  rej-air  yard  at 
!  hiiren. 

The  ()-aka  Iro;;work-  C'ompan\',  founded  by  .in 
I-'n^lishman,  own^  th'-ee  yards  close  to  <  >saka,  ha\'in;^ 
--e\'en  dry  dock-  an'!  seven  berths,  m  addition  to  repair 
yard-'  at  Moji  and  Keelun^',  l-'ormosa.  i''or  many  \ears 
the  Osaka  Company  :-:ru.;e; led  wi;h  adversity,  and  it  has 
nex'er  obtained  the  \\ide  renown  of  the  oilier  two 
companies.  Tin-  wa-  ro;  due  io  an\'  i:u  k  of  excellence 
in  \\'ork,  but  to  it-  poor  i"eo--rap]:i  'al  position,  the 
shallow  water  on  th<-  front,  and  la  k  of  p.o!i:i.\d  jtull. 
It  was  not  until  the  (  )-ak.i  Ilaibour  \\"o:ks  were 
undertaken  that  th,L  lirm  came  into  its  own.  Xeverlhe- 


28o  JAPAN    AT    THK    CROSS    ROADS 

less,  it  launched  the  first  steel  vessel  in  Japan  and  was 
first  to  introduce  triple-expansion  engines.  During  the 
Chinese  and  Russian  wars  the  yard  undertook  a  lot  of 
work  for  the  navy,  and  has  turned  out  a  number  of  fast 
torpedo  boats,  destroyers,  and  patrol  boats.  It  has  been 
closely  associated  with  the  development  oT  the  <>.S.K. 
At  the  present  moment  it  has  more  tonnage  on  its  order 
Ixjoks  than  any  other  yard  in  Japan. 

<  hi  May  31,  1015,  the  following  new  tonnage,  exclu- 
sive of  navy  work  (125,000  ton-),  was  on  order  in 
Japan-:- 

Nagasaki  (M.I i.)  ...  7  str.tiiK1!  -<      ...  -j'/.y  •<>  t<pns  ,^i"ss 

Kobe- >  M.I;.  ...         ;>          11.71*1 

..      (K.D.i  ...  „                         ...  .,N, 

0-wik.uO.IAV.)  ...  JJ                       ...  NI.;,.. 

\'.il  lull-  in  1  :;.."'  »  > 


5' 

Since  that  dale  orders  for  .mother  ^70.000  tons  have  been 
placed.  In  hut,  the  \anU  are  now  unable  to  rope  with 
the  work  ottered  them.  The  Mit-it  l)i-hi  re.  ently 
announced  that  the  statement  that  tiie  Kn-^ian  Yolunieei 
Fleet  had  ordered  a  li:ier  from  them  was  untrue  ;  tin- 
latter  had  a-ked  them  to  <  on-truct  three  steamer-,  but 
it  had  been  imj>o>-ibl'-  to  accept  the  order,  owmi;  to  the 
num!)er  of  <  ontrarts  on  hand. 

It  \\ould  appear  fiom  the  balan---  sheet-  ot  shipbuild- 
ing i  oi!i]).tni'-s  a-  if  new  <o;i^tnn  lion  \\a-  .1  \ei\  hi.  i.iiue 
bu-ine^-.  Ther--  i>  n-a-on  to  doubt  whether  i;  i-  eiju.ilK 
M>  for  the  rountry.  A  rei  ent  icport  ot  the  M'-n  .»n:ile 
Marine  Uur'-au  ol  the  I  )epartin<-nt  ot  ('oinmene  [xnnt- 
out  that  in  rea'i'y  only  ve-seN  ot  up  to  j.ooo  ton--  r.m 
be  e<  onomii  ally  built  in  [apan.  I  h--  ro  i  ot  I.u.'.ei 
Ve  ',••]-  eX' eed  by  fiom  IJ!  to  Jo  per  (en!,  tlf  ro-t  o| 
(on  tiU'tion  abroad,  p';;  .  th'-  i;n|oit  dutie  and  .  \p< n-<  -. 
i'roli.ibly  uhat  th"  Department  \\  i  h  to  indi>  a'e  i-  that 
what  i  a  hi'  rative  bu-ine  •  lo|-  th--  baildei  j  a  \ei\ 
bad  one  for  th'-  (oUlltlV.  Alt'  I  ail,  tin  blalin-  1-  oil 


KINANCK,    INDUSTRY,    AND    TOMMKRCK     281 

the  Department,  for  it  is  owing  to  the  subsidies  that 
matters  arc  so.  It  is  tin-  government  and  the  subsidi/ed 
companies  who  an-  the  best  customers  of  the  shipbuilders. 
It  is  difficult  to  see  how  construction  can  be  economical 
when  the  steel  foundries  cannot  turn  out  sufficient  material 
for  the-  use  of  the  government,  let  alone  the  private  yards. 
A  production  of  four  times  the  quantity  would  barely 
meet  the  pre-war  demand.  Kven  then  Japan  IKLS  no  ore 
resources  of  her  own,  and  is  obliged  to  import  from 
Sweden,  Kngland,  India,  and  China.  In  addition,  many 
imjxjrtant  parts  cannot  be  manufactured  in  Japan,  but 
have  to  be  imported.  The  bubble  about  Japan  being 
able  to  manufacture  everything  she  requires  herself  is 
blown.  Admiral  Yashiro,  Minister  of  the  Xavy,  recently 
admitted  in  the  Diet  that  only  70  per  cent,  of  the 
material  used  in  the  Hanuia  was  made  in  Japan,  and,  in 
addition,  turbines  and  other  machinery  came  from  Kng- 
land.  Similar  conditions,  though  not  to  so  great  an 
extent,  prevail  in  mercantile  construction.  This  notwith- 
standing, the  Japanese-  have  brought  the  shipbuilding 
industry  to  a  very  high  level,  both  as  to  output  and 
quality,  and  its  future  will  be  watched  abroad  with  con- 
siderable interest  and  sympathy. 

The  Toyo  Risen  Raisha  lately  announced  that  it  has 
tinder  construction  a  new  liner  which  will,  when  completed, 
be  the  crack  vessel  on  the  Pacific.  It  is  being"  built  at 
the  Tsurumi  yard,  recently  laid  do\\n  near  Yokohama  on 
the  shores  of  Tokyo  Hay  by  the  President,  Mr.  Asano. 
The  Sd/i  r'rdiicisco  Mam  is  to  be  03 h  feet  long  ; 
her  quadruple-expansion  engines  will  develop  23  knots, 
and  she  will  have  accommodation  for  300  first-class, 
i  oo  second-class,  and  Soo  steerage  passengers.  Tin- 
new  boat  will  be  40  feet  longer  than  the-  latest  Kmpre>s 
class  of  the  Canadian  Pacific  Ocean  service.-,.  The  Sun 
Francisco  Marit  marks  a  new  departure  in  Japanese 
shipping'  policy,  which  is  attracting  a  good  deal  of  atten- 
tion in  American  commercial  and  official  circles.  Hitherto 
the  T.R.R.  boats  have-  run  from  San  Francisco  to  Yoko- 
hama, and  on  to  Hong-  Rong.  making  connections  at  the 


2S2  JAPAN    AT    Till-:    CROSS    ROADS 

latter  place  for  Manila.  The  development  of  the 
JajKine-e  tran-pacili'  service-,  has.  then-fore,  been  a 
matter  of  general  utility  to  all  Americans  trading  in  the 
J-'ar  Ka-t,  for,  whether  via  San  Frajv  i-co  or  Seattle. 
they  have  1)'  en,  in  la-  t,  through  -'-rvice-  to  China.  Tin- 
new  boat  i-  only  to  run  between  Yokohama  and  San 
I-  rancisco,  and  the  China  end  i-  to  be  left  to  -mailer 
\e--el-.  Since  the  war  and  the  consequent  -horta^e  of 
tonnage  sufficient  to  .erve  to  whole  I-'ar  Ka-t,  Japane-e 
line->  have  concentrate  I  th<  ir  bi^'  .-hips  on  the  cro-s-1'acitic 
service,  which  is,  <it  cour-e,  of  va-tly  greater  importance 
to  the  country.  The  announcement  that  the  new  c\pre-s 
steamers  are  only  to  run  betwei-a  America  and  Japan 
empha-i/cs  the  new  policy  that  Japanese  line-  arc  there 
to  -,crve  Japane-e  intere-ts  lir.-i.  and  that  American. 
Chinese,  and  Philippine  wants  mu-t  be  m--t  fioni  other 
-ourre-.  Comment  from  Am-  ncaii  oliicial  -our<  e-  on 
the  change  i-  rath'-r  a>  rid.  but  there  i-  no  real  rea-on  for 
it.  American  legislation  ha-  done  e\vr.  thin;;  it  j>o--ibl\ 
<an  to  drive  the  American  llav;  on  the  I'ac'.hc.  and 
the  only  Ameri' an  lin»-  now  runnin;;  i-  doin-  -o  in  -pile 
of  otiii  ial  di-abili'.ic-,  and  not  be<  au-e  oi  oi.-'n-ial  aid. 
.After  dn\'in;r  Am«-rican  e\[Kirter-  to  depend  on  Japane-e 
shipping.  Ann-rii  an  ofiieialdoni  -eem-  quite  p-e\:di  be- 
t  au-e  th''  fapan<--e  lin-  -.  an-  d^nion  tratin;:'  th.ii  they  are 
in  budne—  !or  tli"ir  own  and  th"ir  i  oimtry's  i;ood.  and 
not  for  that  ot  tlr-  Sta'---.  An  rxpe- ted  de\-e!o|.ment 

of     th1'     IieW     M-rVJer     \\iil     be     tile     tran-lef     ol      'lie      fap.llle-e 

-ilk    imjHir'!     trade    from    Seattle    t<>    San     I'lancixo.       'I  he 

•holt    Voyage    b\     IiiM1   ll    la    !e|     and    better    boats    \\lll    redilii 

!n-uran<  e  (har'<-  t-i  a  n.i:i;m-:n.  one  ol  the  mo  .t  i:n 
jxirt.mt  eleni'-iit  o|  ;he  ti.i  !•  and  as  \\\>-  mil' a_..'.e  hum 
San  I  ran'  i  (  o  to  \i-.v  YOI!»  i  ;!)  '.ini'-  as  tti.i.'i  Si-attic 
the  futu-e  u;'!  pi-'tb.i!'!'.  -e  t!)c  J.ij  m  Shi;  S;"  lai  runnm;/ 
f  p.rn  :!)••  o-;'ii-  :  n  po! '  in  'e  i  !  "t  •'  -  i:o:  -hern .  'I  he 
'  1 1  a  n  , ;  ••  in  |  a ;  •  i : ;  •  •  j  •«  i '  i .  -,  .  i  \  <  :  i  it  permanent,  b  \  1 1  •  • 
Hi' an  invn!\e  an\  <  iim;;.-;'  -0:1  i.l  |api:"  ••  mi-re  t  n 
'he  (  'inna  t :  .1  'e.  b::t  on!  ilia'  'In  v. :!  1»-  <  m  d  lor 


FINANCK,    INDUSTRY,    AND   COMMKRCK     2X5 

the  big  liners  will  make  the  terminus  of  their  trans- 
pacific voyages  in  a  home  port  instead  of  in  Hong 
Kong. 

An  interesting  report  was  issued  in  September,  1916, 
by  the  Department  of  Commerce  at  Washington,  dealing 
with  Transpacific  shipping.  It  is  intended  to  show  the 
altered  conditions  which  the  war  has  brought  about  on 
the  Pacific,  and  particularly  emphasizes  the  remarkable 
expansion  of  the  Japanese  share.  Commercial  Attache 
Arnold  and  Vice-Consul  Kirjasoff,  who  are  the  authors 
of  the  report,  estimate  the  total  pre-war  yearly  freight 
capacity  in  Transpacific  shipping-  meaning  thereby  regular 
steamers  running"  between  the-  Orient  and  North  Pacific 
Coast  ports — at  1,387,1  13  tons.  This  tonnage  was  made; 
up  as  follows:  353,060  tons,  or  25*45  per  cent., 
American;  410,305  tons,  or  29*58  per  cent.,  British  ; 
256,248  tons,  or  18*47  percent.,  (ierman  ;  and  367,500 
tons,  or  2 6* 5  per  cent.,  Japanese.  The  conditions  in 
May  of  tlie  present  year  are  calculated  by  the  same 
authorities  as  follows  :  The  total  available,  yearly  tonnage 
on  regular  lines  of  all  nations  was  960,960  tons,  and  this 
was  supplemented  by  130,000  tons  estimated  for  chartered 
shipping.  The  960,960  tons  were  made  up  as  follows  : 
19,000  tons,  or  i'97  per  cent.,  American  ;  364,260 
tons,  or  37'9  per  cent.,  British;  100,000  tons,  or 
10*04  per  cent.,  Dutch  ;  and  477,700  tons,  or  50*09 
per  cent.,  Japanese.  If  the  130.000  tons  of  shipping* 
capacity  chartered  by  the  Japanese  lines  are  added,  the 
Japanese  percentage  rises  to  55*75  per  cent.,  and  tin- 
percentages  of  tonnage  under  other  ilags  are  necessarily 
proportionately  decreased.  Of  course.  since  May  the 
percentage  of  tonnage  under  tin-  American  llag  has  been 
rising  through  the  appearance  of  the  Pacific  Mail  Service 
on  the  Transpacific  route  once  more,  but  it  must  be 
remembered  that  the  Japanese  percentage  is  also  rising. 
and  that  the  young  world  Power  of  the  Far  Ka>t  is 
making  every  effort  to  consolidate  and  make  permanent 
the  fruits  of  the  opportunity  which  she,  has  sei/ed  with 
such  energy  and  determination.  A  Dutch  correspondent 


284  JAPAN    AT    THIC    CROSS    ROADS 

in  the  Far  Ka^t,  dealing  with  the  same  subject,  says  that 
Japan  ha>  conquered  the  Pacific  trade,  and  there  is 
practically  no  port  of  inif>ortance  there  which  Japanese 
lines  are  not  serving.  A  noteworthy  development,  too,  is 
the  extension  of  these  services  to  South  America,  and 
regular  services  are  actually  in  being  all  along  the  Pacific 
roa>t,  whilst  lines  are  announced  to  commence  early  next 
>car  to  Plate  and  lira/ilian  {xjrts.  Almost  the  biggest 
business  Ixrtween  San  Francisco  and  Australia  is  being 
done  by  the  ( )saka  Shosen  Kaisha,  much  to  the  disgust 
of  American  lines  which  formerly  controlled  the  trade. 
\V.e  may  quote  a  sjx-ech  by  Mr.  Samuels,  managing 
director  of  the  Oceanic  Company  of  San  Francisco,  in 
which  he  say.s  :  "It  is  only  a  question  of  time  until 
the  Pacific  becomes  a  Japanese  lake,  for  their  working 
co>ts  are  much  less  than  ours,  and  they  receive  official 
backing  in  a  manner  quite  unknown  over  here."  One 
can  quite  understand  the  bitter  references  of  American 
Writer^  to  the  Japanese  subvention  system,  in  view  of 
the  persistent  efforts  of  the  American  authorities  to  drive 
the  American  mercantile  marine  out  of  business.  There 
H  no  doubt  that  Japan  has  sei/ed  with  both  hands  the 
opportunity  uhi  h  the  war  has  given  her  to  consolidate 
and  develop  her  marine  business,  and  no  one  will  blame 
her  for  making  the  nio-t  of  it. 

The  ioilowin^  translation,  from  an  arti<  le  contributed 
by  a  Ku>-ian  \ui'er  to  th'-  lltirl>:u s/;  ;•  IVx//;//;,  i;ive->  a 
very  good  .summary  ot  the  <  han^e-,  in  Ja[)an\  industrial 
{.o-ition  a^  a  re-ult  ot  the  war  :  — 

Japan  ha->  in  recent  years  developed  its  manufactures, 
ha1-  found  ii'-w  niaik't-  tor  it-;  produ«  t>,  parti<ulaily  in 
ku--ia  an<l  ih'-  <'entral  and  So'.uh  American  I\ej>ublics, 
and  now  ha-,  the  very  be-,t  ojij»ortumty  to  become  one 
oi  the  lor'-ino-t  i  oinniereial  countries.  In  I'y<>.>  the  total 
turnover  of  Jajian'-  lorei-n  trade  was  ooo.uoo.ooo  yen 
•  >  ,(><>.<>'><>.<  xx  >  <4  It  :.;:a'h:all\  in<i<a-.ed  until  in  P)O5 
;i  v,  a  ,'S  I  o,(;(  j- '.ooo  •.«:!  ,  in  I'^lo  it  \\  a  -  <  ;J  J  ,<  -00,000 
%-n  ;  in  I'/lJ  th'-  am- 1  in  it  wa  •-  1 ,  1  S;*.ooo,<  >oo  yen  ; 
an-'  in  i  >}  i  5  it  w.i  1 , 34  I  ,ouo,oo<j  yen  ($<>'/»,  500,000  >. 


FINANCE,    INDUSTRY,    AND   COMMERCE     285 

Japan's  business  was  chiefly  with  England  (27  per  cent.), 
America    (23   per  rent.),  and   Cliina    (20  per  cent.)      In 
only  a  few  countries  with  which  it  dealt  was  the  balance 
in  Japan's  favour — America,  China,  Russia,  and   I-' ranee. 
Japan's   total   balance,    with    the   exception    of    the    years 
1906   and     1909,    was    not    in    its    favour    up    to     1915, 
although    in   'the    last    few    years    its    exerts    have    been 
increasing  steadily.      In    1915  Japan's  trade  took  a  turn 
for   the   better.      The   exports    exceeded    the    imports    by 
175,800,000   yen    (§87,900,000).      In   the   first    half   of 
1916  the  exjxjrts  exceeded  the  imports,  according  to  pre- 
liminary   reports,    by    80,000,000     yen     (^40,000,000;. 
Ten  years  ago  there  were  only  4,000  factories  in  Japan 
using  power  machinery,   with  an  aggregate  of    120,000 
horsepower.     At  present  the  country  has  i  6,000  factories, 
using    1,125,000    aggregate    horsepower   and    employing 
1,500,000   workmen.      In   July,    1907,    Japan   possessed 
a  commercial   steamer  fleet   with  a  total  net  tonnage  of 
679,000;    on  July    i,    1916,   it  had   a   fleet   with   a   net 
tonnage  of    1,169,105.      It  is  easily  understood  that   the 
Japanese  wish  to  reach  such  a  state  in  their  industries  that 
they  may  feel  the  least  possible  dependence  upon  other 
countries.     But   this  is  very  difficult  on  account  of   the 
scarcity  of  natural  wealth  in  Japan,  which  is  such  that, 
notwithstanding  all  endeavours,  they  have  not  been  able 
to   meet    the    demands    of    their    manufacturers    for    raw 
products.     The  yearly  growth  of  Japanese  industries  has 
increased    the    demand    for    raw    products,    and    to    meet 
this    demand    Japan    is    forced    to    import    raw    products 
from    other    countries.      It    is    said    that    ten    years    ago 
this    condition    was    even    more    unfavourable,    and    that 
only  on  the  acquisition  of  Korea,  Kwangtung,  and  South 
Manchuria  was  relief  felt.     I  low  much  Japan  is  in  need 
of  raw  products   is   shown  by   the   import  statistics.      Of 
the  total  imports,  to  the  value  of  488,500,000  yen,   for 
eleven   months    of    the    last    year    for    which    figures    are 
available  (1915),  312,600,000  yen  represented  raw  pro- 
ducts and   89,700,000  yen  semi-manufactured  products. 
Of   the   raw.   products    imported    by   Japan   the    following 


286  JAPAN    AT   THE   CROSS    ROADS 

are  among  the  articles  of  greatest  value  :  Cotton, 
200.000.000  yen  ;  wool,  28,100.000  yen  ;  linen  and 
hemp,  7,800,000  yen.  All  of  Japan's  agricultural  area 
is  occupied  by  rice-fields  and  orchards.  Cotton,  the 
most  important  raw  product  necessary  to  Japanese  in- 
dustries, is  raised  in  very  small  amounts.  Almost  all 
the  large  quantity  of  raw  cotton  Used  in  Japan  is  imported. 
Cattle-raising  in  Japan  is  MI.  h  that  it  cannot  be  favourably 
compared  with  even  that  of  countries  of  less  importance. 
I'nder  these  conditions  Japanese  industries  are  unable 
to  obtain  even  such  important  domestic  products  as  hides 
and  wool,  but  nevertheless  the  country  produces  many 
articles  of  leather,  the  whole  raw  product  for  which  must 
come  from  abroad.  The  >anie  is  true  of  woollen  goods, 
but  woollen  and  semi -woollen  textiles  are  not  largely  manu- 
factured, .ind  Japan  to  a  great  extent  uses  foreign-made 
goods  (ino.stly  English).  Hardly  any  flax  or  jute  is 
rai-ed  in  Japan,  but  this  does  not  hinder  the  Japanese 
from  exerting  canvas,  bags,  and  other  manufactures  of 
these  product-.  Among  the  more  important  Japanese 
raw  and  semi-manufactured  imported  products  the  amounts 
for  eleven  months  of  i  <;  i  5  were  :  Sheet  iron,  19,400,000 
yen  :  pig  iron  and  iron  ore,  '>.ooo,ouo  yen  :  iron  pi|x\ 
1,^00,000  y<-n  ;  rail-.  '  00,000  yen  ;  lead,  2.500,000 
yen  ;  paper  pulp,  5/100.000  yen  ;  linen  yarn.  800,000 
yen  ;  leather,  i,'- 00,000  yen.  For  eleven  months  of  1014 
the  amount-  we  re  :  Sheet  iron,  2  },<;oo,ooo  yen  ;  pig1 
iron  and  iron  ore,  7,^00,000  yen  ;  iron  pipes,  4,000.000 
yen  ;  raiN.  2,000,000  yen  ;  lead,  2.700.000  yen  :  pajxT 
pulp,  4.100.000  \rii  ;  linen  yarn,  ;. 500.000  yen  : 
leather,  i , .'-.(jo. ooo  yen.  Although  Japan'--  mining  in- 
du-trv  is  weil  org.mi/ed.  the  production  of  iron  ore  is 
o  .-mall  that  fajMii  nri-t  import  from  <  lima  more  than 
; oo.o<  >o  ooo  j;n  i  < ,t ,i \,i  i •,< i  < \  i <  lb .  o|  iron  and 
100,000,000  j;n  <  i  i  ;.  -,  ^  ^.  >  ;  ;  Ib.j  iif  i  a-t  iron.  I  icm 
I-Jigl.'ind,  Sweden,  and  <  .ermany  Japan  imi-oit-  man- 
•'.Cii<-  e-nnn  allo1/,  mirror  -at  ii'on.  iron  i 
MM].,.  From  Am-  ri  a  are  iinj>ortcd  pe\\t'i 

I  I'  iW    lUU"   h      [.(Ji  Hi     1  .     Ill    Iiecd     (;f     IIOll     i 


FINANCE,    INDUSTRY,    AND   COMMERCE     287 

a  special  column  of  imports  headed  "  old  iron,"  of  which 
120,000,000  jiu  (160,000,000  It).)  are  imported  yearly. 
In  all,  raw  and  semi-manufactured  iron  products  im- 
jwrtcd  into  Japan  amount  to  100,000,000  yen  yearly. 
Notwithstanding1  ihc  fad  ih.it  Japan  is  dependent  on 
other  countries  for  iron,  it  has  been  able  to  develop  a 
g<x)d  metal  industry,  with  the  exception  of  machinery. 
Machine'  manufacturing1  was  badly  organized  in  Japan 
'before  the  war,  so  that  it  was  necessary  to  import  from 
other  countries,  principally  from  (Germany.  Since  the;  war 
Japan  has  been  forced  to  build  its  own  machine  shops  ; 
that  is  to  rebuild  and  extend  machine  shops  and  ship- 
building" yards,  either  belonging  to  the  Government  or 
else  subsidized  by  the  Government.  It  is  stated,  how- 
ever, that  even  at  the  present  time  machinery  is  being 
imported.  Japan's  imports  for  eleven  months  of  1915 
in  various  lines  were  :  Food  products — wheat,  1,500,000 
yen  ;  rice,  4,600,000  yen  ;  bean  products,  8,500,000 
yen;  sugar,  13,600,000  yen  ;  miscellaneous,  including 
tobacco,  3,800,000  yen.  Manufactures — cloth,  2,800,000 
yen  ;  satins,  velvet,  etc.,  1,700.000  yen  ;  paper, 
2,700,000  yen  ;  iron  nails,  6,400,000  yen  ;  naphtha, 
7,600,000  yen.  For  eleven  months  of  1914  the  figures 
were  :  Food  products — wheat,  8,300,000  yen  ;  rice, 
24,300,000  yen;  bean  products,  12,400,000  yen; 
sugar,  i  9, 700,000  yen  :  miscellaneous,  including  tobacco, 
4,000.000  yen.  Manufactures— cloth,  4,600,000  yen  ; 
satin,  velvet,  etc.,  1,900,000  yen  ;  paper,  4,600,000 
yen  ;  iron  nails,  500,000  yen  ;  naphtha,  7,400,000  yen. 
Notwithstanding  Japan's  great  progress  in  textile  manu- 
facture-, still  it  import^  cloth  and  the  better  qualities  of 
woollen  textile-  >  principally  from  England  >  besides  cotton 
piece  goods.  This  is  explained  by  the  better  quality 
of  foreign  goods.  During  the  past  year  the  Japanese 
have  been  very  much  intere-ted  in  hops,  which  before 
the  war  were  brought  from  Germany,  and  are  now  being 
offered  by  America.  Line"!  and  bristles  also  are  sought, 
and  it  is  known  that  several  sales  ot  them  have  been 
made,  There  have  al.v>  been  inquiries  through  the  Russo- 


288  JAl'AN    AT   THE    CROSS    ROADS 

Japanese  Association  as  to  the  possibility  of  receiving 
jxjtash  and  tobacco  from  Russia,  hut  the  very  hi^h  price 
of  {x>ta^h  makes  it  impossible  to  do  this  business  until 
thr  clo-H'  of  the  w.ir.  As  to  leaf  tobacco,  this  question 
has  not  been  fullv  examined." 


ril/UTKK    SIX 
SOCIAL    CONDITIONS 

PART  I 

IT  will  probably  be  a  long  time  before  the  world  arrives 
at  a  just  estimate  of  the  Japanese  character,  and  when 
it  does  it  will  most  likely  be  found  somewhere  half-way 
between  the  fulsome  standard  set  up  by  the  Japanophiles 
and  the  equally  exaggerated  low  level  claimed  by  the 
Japanophobes.  Although  the  country  has  now  been 
opened  more  than  half  a  century,  admitted  to  the  so- 
called  comity  of  nations  for  twenty  years,  and  in  alliance 
\\ith  (ireat  Britain  for  thirteen  years,  it  remains  a  paradox 
that  no  nation  has  been  so  misunderstood  by  the  Western 
world,  and  of  no  nation  has  the  Western  world  thought 
it  knew  more.  The  explanation  is  simple.  The  imita- 
tive powers  of  the  Japanese  have  been  of  a  remarkably 
high  quality,  \vhilst  their  secrctiveness  has  prevented 
almost  ///  toio  critical  examination  of  the  depth  of  their 
assimilation  of  foreign  civilixation.  To  a  large  extent 
the  foreigner  has  been  dependent  for  his  information 
upon  the  valuation  given  by  Japanese  officialdom,  and 
of  the  nature  of  that  valuation  the  bookshelves  of  any 
first-class  library  or  the  columns  of  the  daily  press  during 
the  last  two  decades  are  eloquent  witnesses. 

It  is  only  during  very  recent  years  that  information 
of  the  true  conditions  have  been  available,  owing  entirely 
to  the  private  enterprise  ol  Japanese  investigators  and 
thinkers,  who  have  gone  past  the  vain  imaginings  of 
bureaucracy  and  examined  matters  at  their  source.  In 
this  work  none  have  been  more  industrious  than  the 

19  2Sg 


290  JAl'AN    AT    THK    CROSS    ROADS 

proprietor--  at  th'-  Osaku  A^ih;  SIr.mbnn,  a  new-paper 
of  Ljreat  (  irculation  and  prc-ti.;e,  and  iiulerx-ndrnt  from 
the  mflurnc'-  lit  authoiity,  the  Tokyo  I\rorunni*t,  a  monthly 
review  oJ  hi^li  standing,  and  the  f\t)kunrn  Xi/ss///,  a 
retleetive  or^an  \vho-e  anii  de-  arc  well  worth  -uidyin;.;, 
ulnUt  t«>  ///<•  Jii/an  CfironitTc  the  outer  world  i*.  deeply 
indebted  lor  it-  pubiii  ation  in  Kn^li-h  <>f  ;he-e  rcx-an  in--. 

The  -tale  o!  the  a^ii  UiPii.il  rla.*>s  and  ot  the  li>v\«r 
inuldle  »  la--,  may  !)••  u-ually  tak -;i  a>  a  lair  Mandaid 
ol  the  c'oiiditiuiii  of  a  eotmtr\',  and  \l  the^e  are  «.oii^idered 
in  [apan,  <jne  i->  rekii  tantl\  forced  to  tin-  roiu  hiMon  thai 
tiling -.  arc  very  \--rv  far  tn>m  p:o-j  eiou^.  <)>aka  i-  tin- 
j)nni  ij.al  m.mutai  turin;^  <  entre  of  Japan,  and  by  tar  the 
mo>t  \\cll-to-do  city  in  '•.}}••  country,  even  though  Tol;\o 
may  {;o--ci->  a  lar^f-r  number  of  millionaires.  In  (>  aka 
in  i<>\2  43.000  pcixjin  paid  UK  oine  tax  .  \"  1 .  50.7.000  i, 
and  their  average  income  \\a->  \'Si;  p- r  annum.  <M 
the-e,  2  >,oo  >  j)i-i-on>  had  im  oir.c-  a\cia^in;^  \'35'>  p«'i 
annum,  or  \  2<>  per  month,  and  there  \veri-  t<-n>  and 
hundred-  of  thou-and-  not  liai-lr  to  iin  oine  taxation  a- 
th-'ir  in •  oni'-i  were  le^-^  than  \  25  per  montli.  I  he  a\er.i^«- 
1'armly  in  th--  <  ity  H  of  five  person-.  It  i-  plain  that  a 
faniiiv  of  ti\'-  endeavouring  to  h\r  or  talln  r  to  <\IM 
on  \  j;  or  \  }o  j»rr  moiith  i-  ai  t'-mj  >:  in_.;  the  i;npo->-ii»!e. 
lh»-  :;o\-ri  nni'-nt  i>  thi-  wor-t  cnipio'.rr  of  !a  -our  in  the 
(ountr\.  lh'-  p' >-.'  -oiiii  r  emj)'o;.e-  are  diockin^l^  und-  ; 
|  ail.  Iwo-thild-  of  them  not  e\'  eedl'l^  \'.'<)  j"l  month, 
although,  a>  mo-!  "I  the:n  ar<-  -  on  ii  MI  a'  i\ '  1  v  \o;;:i,',.  the. 
(in  no?  -;:ltei  ih--  burd'-n  «i  dcj»cnde;.t .  -o  n::;1  h  a>  -oiin- 
o'h'-r  'ia-  e-.  ll  ;-  t->  !)••  i.oli  <•  i,  howe\i-r.  lha:  a-  -o  u. 
a-,  an  i  mj  )'<>',('•  i!  <•  a!jo\e  i!i--  \  .:  <  >  maik  in  maiur 
o;  1:1  aiioth'-r  '.\  a  .  in  r  a  •••>  In-  !••  ;  ,<  in^i!»ii:i  i<-  -. 

llf    j-o'i    i-ijian     i"<-r.'--    tio'n    \   i    ;    \»    \  .1  \     •  -«•! ";.;«-an! 

ji'u      a    i  oi.;  r  liiut  ion    I"   hoii>f    rent,    hi>   un'form    and     -i -. 

b;s'    out     .,;     h;-     ..i    h     v.i."-     lr-    ha<     t1'     -lipjoii     t'li-i-    i.i 
fo1 ;  i    1 1-  •    nil    .     II       j  1 1     •  i  »:•    ;  •  v,  <  c  -      '  ha 'i   l  In  •   p'  •   I  man.  lo: 

'     i '  i!  io!    a      ii'   ,  .1 '  •  •    '.',  ]!  :  i   '  .'  i  1 1  • !         'i   h  ei-j  >  .    li1  '1    '  an    1 :'     a>  i  ' '[  >! 
p!;:!an'h:<  >\  ••  h"  •'.    i«   !•  !.•  i      an     in    th--      a'li'     |  -  •   r  ion. 

•.'.  i'ii   an   .c, '•?  ,i.'<-   v,.i.'    '.I    \  jo   '•>   \    •(>  IK  i    ni'i.'tih      '  on  i 


SOCIAL   CONDITIONS  291 

mercial  employes  arc  in  a  worse  rase,  for  their  salaries 
are  about  the  same,  but  they  have  to  keep  up  a  certain 
social  position,  and  very  often  to  dross  in  Kuropean 
style. 

The  above  may  lx-  described  .is  th>.-  '  genteel  jx>or.' 
Their  families  live  in  one  room  ;  they  die  if  they  fall 
ill,  for  they  have  no  money  for  hospitals  or  doc  tors  ; 
their  children  are  stunted,  underfed,  and  tuberculous  ; 
they  more  often  than  not  have  to  be  buried  by  charity 
or  tlu-  State,  for  life  insurance,  death  benetits,  or  any 
other  prudential  economies  are  as  much  beyond  their 
reach  as  is  the  food  to  strengthen  their  children  to  140  to 
school.  The  following  is  a  typical  monthly  budget  of 
a  \'25  family  :-- 

YI-II 

Rent    4.50 

Rice    S.  i o 

Other  food     }-V' 

Charcoal  for  cooking  and  warning     1.45 

Say,  sui^ar  and  salt  0.70 

Children's  necessities     o.f>..> 

Bath   1.20 

Tobaro >     i  .00 

Presents     0.50 

Club    J.i>o 

Newspapers,  school  books,  etc 0.43 

Laundrv     ()  5(!i 

Clot  hi  us*     i 

Water  ' 


If  the  condition  of  this  stratum  of  society  is  miserable, 
the  condition  of  the  artisan  class  is  no  better,  though 
they  may  be  saved  a  small  fraction  ol  expenses,  incurred 
tor  social  reasons.  Many  of  these,  if  their  positions  were 
permanent,  would  indeed  be  considered  affluent  in  com- 
parison with  the  clerk  or  postman  or  petty  government 
official,  who  has  to  keep  himself  and  his  family  on  o'j> 
sen  a  day.  A  carpenter  makes  S;r  sen,  a  plasterer  Sg  sen, 
a  stone-cutter  V  r,  a  sawyer  S;  sen.  a  tiler  Vi  .03,  a  brick- 
layer Vi.oO,  a  European  style  tailor  8^  sen,  and  a 


292  JAPAN    AT    THE    CROSS    ROADS 

shipwright  91  sen.  Hut  in  most  trades  the  wages  are 
much  lower,  for  in  such  poverty  as  exists  in  Japan  even 
two  or  three  sen  constitutes  a  sum  of  consideration. 

A  mat -maker  receives  77  >en,  a  scrern-maker  /S  sen, 
a  paper -hanger  75  sen,  a  cabinet-maker  79  sen,  a  cooper 
<>$  sen,  a  lacquerer  <>(>  sen.  a  blacksmith  70  sen,  a  j>otter 
03  sen,  a  paper-maker  44  .sen,  a  type-setter  54  sen,  .1 
printer  50  sen,  a  tobacco  cutter  Oj  sen,  a  weaver  4  }  sen, 
whilst  the  earnings  of  '  rickishamen  '  vary  from  40  to  do 
sen.  For  such  as  these  life  is  indeed  one  long  struggle. 
though  if  their  health  keeps  up  they  are  enabled 
to  make  both  ends  meet  by  the  stncie>t  econoinv 
and  by  piecework  done  al  home  by  the  uile  and 
children. 

Below  the  arti-an  comes  the  labourer,  the  casual 
employe,  the  man  to  ulmm  rain  spells  food  or  starvation. 
In  Tok\o  and  other  big  titles  this  submerged  jx>pula 
lion  forms  10  per  cent,  ot  the  whole.  It  lives  in  ncke;\ 
tenement  hou-es,  tli"  ro  i;n ,  ot  which  measure  <j  feet  by 
''  teet,  and  there  is  generally  more  than  one  family  in 
cai  h  room,  the  ^/io^i  (screens)  arc  broken  and  torn,  ot 
furniture  there  i>  none,  the  Moor  malting  is  damp  and 
rotten  and  torn,  and  the  whole  abode  one  ol  td;h  and 
di-ea^e.  Su<  h  families  pay  a  d.id\  rent  ot  a  leu  -en. 
and  their  food,  \\hen  they  i  an  get  it,  is  the  refuse  and 
the  leaving-,  from  r->taurant-,  markets,  and  houses.  \\'hen 
in  work  their  earning-,  ratine  from  \  :.  to  i^  \en  p«-i 
month,  but  tor  one-third  ot  a  \ear  the\  <  annot  \\ork  on 
a<  i  onnt  ot  the  rain.  AS  is  u-ual  with  MII  h  (lasses  m 
all  <  oiintrie-,  their  miseries  are  in<  reaped  b\  large  Jainihe-. 
I  hen  on!-,  expenses  are  lood  and  rent,  but  e\en  so 
they  i  annot  ke«-p  out  ot  debt.  A  typi'.d  budi;et  ot  an 
(•'  onomif  al  (  ouple,  who  i1e|ther  smoked  nor  diank,  .md 
had  b-.;:  one  ihrd.  shoued  a  monthly  dctn  it  ot  \\  to 
\  ;  .  'I  hat  these  are  the 
been  c]finoiist i.i'e<!  n/l 
th'  iniddl'-  <  la  -.  matt' 
\s  a ; '  e  .  1 1 1  d  a !  a  r  l  e  s  1 1  a  \ 

•h'        '  o     '       ot        ll\  III.         I. 


SOCIAL   CONDITIONS  293 

Filial  piety  lias  ever  been  a  virtue  of  the  land,  and 
the  creation  of  posterity  is  as  much  a  duty  to  the  ancestors 
as  to  the  nation.  As  Mencius  wrote  :  '  To  have  no 
posterity  is  the  worst  of  the  three  unfilial  things." 
In  the  middle  class  there  U  an  increasing  tendency 
to  avoid  this  duty  on  account  of  the  straitness  of  the 
family  budget.  During  the  past  few  years  women's 
magazines  have  been  repeatedly  suppressed  as  '  subversive 
to  public  morals,'  and  inquiry  frequently  shows  that  the 
excuse  for  the  censorship  has  been  a  protest  against 
child-bearing  to  propitiate  ancestral  spirits.  As  a  Mrs. 
Yamada  wrote  in  one  of  these  forbidden  reviews  :  "  Why 
should  women  be  forced  to  bring  into  the  world  children 
we  cannot  feed,  clothe,  or  educate?  Why  must  we  in- 
crease our  population  at  the  dictates  of  passion  and 
superstition,  when  large  sections  of  the  population  are 
starving." 

It  might  be  argued  that  with  increasing  industrial 
activity  wages  will  go  still  higher,  and  an  improvement 
be  gained  thereby.  Or  on  the  other  hand  the  development 
of  agriculture  may  cause  a  reduction  in  the  price  of 
commodities,  and  so  give  relief  to  the  people.  I  am 
afraid  that  a  long  while  must  elapse  before  relief  is 
afforded  in  these  ways.  If  the  industrial  population  was 
liable  to  be  limited,  then  the  law  of  supply  and  demand 
would  force  a  living  wage,  but  unfortunately  conditions 
on  the  land  are  such  that  agriculturists  are  migrating  to 
the  towns,  and  employers  will  have  no  difficulty  in  obtain- 
ing plenty  of  labour,  and  the  labourers  must  accept  what- 
ever terms  the  employers  give.  An  increase  in  agricultural 
production  may  come,  but  the  annual  increase  in  popula- 
tion of  i  d  per  cent,  prevents  it  bring  of  general  benefit. 
The  big  development  of  agriculture  will  only  be  when 
modern  machinery  is  introduced  and  the  plot  system, 
the  survival  of  centuries,  i.s  abolished.  When  that  day 
comes  the  migration  to  town  will  increase  several  hundred- 
fold, for  the  machinery  will  replace  the  labourer. 

Japan  will  only  be  a  cheap  country  to  live  in  when 
the  taxation  is  reduced,  when  militarism  is  abandoned, 


_>04  JAPAN    AT    T11K    CROSS    ROADS 

\\heri   the  true  ba>i>  oi   economy  i>  understood,  and   when 
the    l'a!-e    jirid-1.    which    i-   at    present   one   of   the    principal 
i  ur-      of   th--   co;jir.ry   and    the  people,   i^  duly   e\om-ed. 
A    v.  tit;i    ::i    th'1    Osf/Av/    .Is.////.    says,    "  a    pnni  ipal    <  an--- 
ot    ih-    hi.,'1)    p'i   e-    are    the    extravagance    and    mint-it    of 
the   nation    alter   the   war    wr.li    Ku---ia.   and    the   eh'-apii'-^ 
of  tin-  borroue  1  monev  uhi«  h  then  llo\\ed  into  the  countrv 
lapane  e    uoiiien    do    not    appiei  late    the    importance    ot 
buvin;,;  th'  ir  own  pr<>\i-:on--.  but  think  thai  MI<  h  econom:  •• 
mean    a    !"--    of    dignity.       It    i-    the    ambition    of    e\er\ 
\\oman   to  keep  a   M-rv.mt,  even    in   familie-   who.e   income 
dot-    not     allow    of     -ui  h    an    extravagance.        1  hey     like 
to    -it    at    home    or    j^o    viMtin^,    and    leave    the    manage 
im-nt  of   their  !iou>e  t  i   the  maid,   who  ))uy->   the  provision, 
and    fixe-    h'-r   own    pri«  <•    \vith    the    ^-Her,    who    vi-it-    the 
liou-'-.       Thi-,    i-    mo-t    uneconomical    and    ua-tefnl.>       It 
i-  tin-  fadiion  nowaday--  to  de-pise  work,  an  unhapj)\    n-li. 
ot    leU'!ah-m.    a::d    wive-,    infinitely    pieler   to   dre->    them 
-••!ve-,    ri-  lily    and    to   order    their    M-ivant    here    and    there 
to    dom^    atr.  thin;;    tli'-m-e!\-:>-.       'I  he    re-tilt    i^    that    there 
i-    \\a-te,    extravagance,    and    debt." 

It  i-  Inli!'-  for  th'  |aja!ie-e  aiitlii'i  it  ie->  to  bra/en  oat 
to  ili.  woi  I  1  tha'  th--  country  i-  pio-peroa^  and  happ\ 
U!M;I  the  majoM'y  o!  th'-  jMjti'a'ion  i>  in  ui;^  m  absolute 
uani  and  d'-  titntioii,  lot  th--  (oiidr.ion-^  ol  10  p--r  (  i  nt 
nl  ih'-  uri)aii  popniation  i-  tic-  noim.d  OM«-  ot  mo-t  of  th-- 
a;.1,  i •  i'  I:!"M  a!  li  i  looii-h  tor  \i-itoi-  \\}\<>  ^peiid  a  t<  v\ 
\\t-i-k-.  in  the  land,  and  aie  ojn  id!.  io-;ducte(|  imind 
'h'-  i;di'-.  to  thrik  tna'  l!ie\  ha\'-  --ecu  japaii.  or  aie 

nahti' d   tn      [>•  ak   o}    i;  .       I  b  .\\    man\    of    tic-   latnoi;-   id. id 
han  ier-.,  \\!io  ar-    r    -pon  ilj'e    undi  r  ^'o\  en.nient  pat  rona^e, 
!'••    ih'     p'-r  •-!  -!••:. t    eMoit-    to   i)oo:n    -he    roiintrv    ha\e    e\  ei 
been   jn  j  !••  an  <  >  aka  mill,  or  \  i  ited   th--    -him     of  Tok\o, 
ot    (  i   .ik  e    01     \a.;o\a.   o;    \>'-'  \"    1    in-lde   a    larnier'-     !n-'l  ' 

I  h nd;i  ;o:i      \\ ;:.    !i    i    h.i\  •     a't    mp'ed    to   d-    •  i  ibe    j  n- 

v.ul.  and  o,l   ,:   p.,t:  ioi    a     <  'oiint   <  >k'.:ma   ha     .1-  knov. 

le,!-'.     !     th'   111     '»     be     a     dl    ..-r.l.   e. 

i  :  .  '     i  i     :  :.!I'i      i:    •  :  •'<  :      ••'     \  til  >...:<          :i 


SOCIAL   CONDITIONS  295 

During  the  summer  of  i  <>  \  2  th<-  Count  devoted  a  con- 
siderable aiiioiint  of  time  to  investigating  the  Conditions 
ol  the  jHMir,  hinisrlf  visiting  and  thoroughly  examining 
the  darkest  quarter-*  of  Tokyo.  His  descriptions  of  life 
in  I  longo  and  across  tlie  Suinida  River  were  published 
in  the  S/i:'ri-\//iort,  a;id  <  onfirin  and  elaborate  the  <tate- 
ments  of  other  investigators.  Speaking  "'  'he  poor  of 
Maunen-cho  in  Tok\o,  he  said  :  'They  live  in  the  two 
01  three  mat  rooms  of  the  ill-lit  and  low-built  duellings 
ri  groups  of  from  two  to  seven.  The  greatest  number 
of  them  get  one,  or  at  most  two.  meals  a  day,  but  some 
had  not  fed  for  three  days.  Many  are  in  a  chronic  state 
of  ill-health.  .Most  suffer  from  skin  diseases,  the  natural 
consequence  of  never  enjoying  the  sun,  bathing  at  long 
intervals,  and  eating  bad  food." 

It  is  not  only  the  immediate  conditions  which  are  bad, 
it  is  the  outlook  for  the  future.  If  the  Japanese  authori- 
ties intend  to  continue  their  policy  as  in  the  past,  that 
is  bureaucracy,  Mmpcror-worship,  militarism,  and  the  other 
'isms  that  spell  negation  of  th--  individual,  then  it  is 
going  the  very  way  to  cau-e  its  own  ruin.  The-  onfy 
justification  of  despotism  is  the  benefit  of  the  people. 
The  benevolent  despot  is  an  ideal  ruler,  but  he  H  a 
rarity.  The  unconfcs.sed  fear  of  the  Kasumi-gascki  is 
Socialism,  and  the  conditions  I  have  mentioned  are  breed- 
ing a  very  fierce  form  of  Socialism,  which  one  day 
will  find  its  outlet.  On  various  occa-ions  during  recent 
yeai>  the  Tokyo  mob  has  ta-tcd  blood.  True,  it  was 
a  suborned  mob.  Ivnigdu  up  by  the  politicians,  but  it 
has  learnt  something  of  its  own  power,  and  it  is  not 
likely  to  forget.  There  is  no  reason  to  doubt  that  what 
the  authorities  describe  as  '  dangerous  thoughts  '  have 
found  their  way  into  the  army  and  the  navy,  and  though 
it  is  highly  improbable  that  much  ground  has  as  yet 
been  gained,  it  is  acknowledged  that  there  is  a  certain 
amount  of  unrest,  and  certain  incidents  have  required 
a  good  deal  of  explaining  away. 

The   national    health    and    phy-ique    is   bound    to    -utter 
\\here  large  portions  of  the  population  are  underfed  and 


296  JAPAN    AT   THK    CROSS    ROADS 

improperly  housed.  Infantile  mortality  accounted  for 
413.999  deaths  in  1911,  and  there  is  a  heavy  toll  of 
stilll>oni  (157,392'.  The  death-  rate  in  1913  from 
tubercular  complaints  is  49^9  males  and  59  7  females 
per  10  OOQ.  and  is  increa-ing  annually.  It  is  ottic  i.illy 
ark  now  lodged  that  25  per  cent,  ol  the  school  teachers 
.ire  in  advanced  stages  of  consumption,  and  '-3  per 
cent,  are  tuberculous  in  one  way  or  another.  Congenital 
debility  and  malformation,  almost  entirely  due  to  the 
poor  feeding  and  accommodation  of  the  mothers,  is  at 
the  very  high  level  of  I  73  per  mille  of  the  deaths, 
whilst  internal  disorders  caused  directly  by  food  stand 
at  4'95  per  mille. 

I  have  read  somewhere-  words  to  the  following  effect  : 
Infant  mortality  is  the  most  sensitive  index  we-  can  have 
of  social  welfare.  It  measures  mercilessly  the  intelli- 
gence, health,  and  right  living  of  parents,  the  morals 
and  sanitation  of  communities  and  governments,  the 
efticienry  of  physicians,  nurses,  health  officers,  and  edu 
<atoi's.  Well,  in  Japan  3^  jx-r  cent,  of  the  annual  deaths 
are  of  children  under  live  !  If  my  memory  of  the  quota- 
tion is  correct,  that  3>S  per  cent,  of  deaths  answers 
effectively  a  whole  lot  of  <|ii---t  i<  nis  about  Japan.  In 
addition,  it  may  be  added,  that  9  p--r  tent,  ol  the  total 
births  are  stilllxjrn. 

The  following  stati-tics,  showing  the  most  prevalent 
diseases  among'  the  pour,  were  compiled  at  the  Mitsui 
H'l-piial,  an  e-tabli-hment  endoued  1>\  the  Mit.ui  f.nmh 

f'M       the      b'-Ip   lit      ot      tile      loWef     classes      111        I'okvo.  Ilie-c 

figure-,  <uigi:iall.    appean'd   in   the   U  '////<•  ("/(Ms,   a   newl\ 
p'lb'i-heri    organ    of    an    .1     o>ia'ion    lor   the    p:e\i-ntion    of 


N  ,!  :n      ',   l> 

Alum--.!  .:•••  < 

IMI;'  tl-.ul.l. 
'I  iil.r-t    ul  -,   i 


N.  -;• 

Ir.l. 


SOCIAL  CONDITIONS  297 

The  classification  of  the  patients  treated  at  the  Philan- 
thropic   Hospital    in    Tsukiji    is   as    follows: 


Day  l:ib<>uuT  >...      •/()•/       l':u  pcntrt  •>  ......      2i\       T.nl'U,      .........      i.}2 

Jinrikish.itiu-n...     mj       Sinilli^  ............     j.^S       l-'.n  t<M  \  hands         ^'7 

(.'Ink-.  ............      .MI;        I'linU-i-'    .........      17;,       ('iii-ini'l'iyi-ii  ...      501 

Alimentary  diseases,  tuben  ulosjs,  and  trachoma  are 
the  three  diseases  thai  are  undermining  the  vitality  of 
the  |x)orer  classes  in  Tokyo.  The  number  of  trachoma 
patients  in  the  Mitsui  Hospital  in  one  year  .done  ro-e  to 
1,2X4,  and  deaths  from  tuberculosis  in  the  three  muni- 
cipal di-tricts  of  Yotsuya,  Akasaka,  and  A/.abu,  in  1910, 
rosr  to  3,4  i  S. 

The  bad  effect  on  the  physique  of  the  younger  genera- 
tion can  be  well  understood.  The  inadequate  and 
monotonous  dietary  is  depreciating  the  stamina  of  the 
race  and  producing  a  general  prostration.  Whilst  modern 
manners,  the  use  of  chairs  and  tables,  coats  and  trousers. 
have  conduced  to  raising  the  standard  of  height,  the 
pallor  and  weediness  of  the  younger  generation  is  a 
constant  cause  of  remark.  Not  only  is  the  death-rate 
rising,  but  the  birth-rate  is  falling,  whilst  there  has  been 
a  steady  increase  in  the  number  of  the  unmarried,  an 
increase  in  no  way  set  off  by  the  high  level  of  illegiti- 
macy, 10  per  cent,  of  the  birth-rate. 

That  the  moral  balance  of  men  and  women  as  such 
is  endangered  by  the  course  events  are  taking  can  hardly 
be  denied.  That  the-  morality  oi  the  whole  nation  is  being 
seriously  affected  is  beyond  dispute.  The  records  of 
the  criminal  courts  show  that  90  per  cent,  of  the  offences 
committed  are  thefts,  gambling,  fraud,  and  robbery,  uhtlst 
95  per  cent,  of  the  offenders  are  persons  without  property, 
and  trying  to  acquire  property.  Poverty  is  a  Fagan, 
and  is  more  responsible  for  crime  than  all  other  causes 
combined.  The  appalling  monotony  of  existence  in  the 
lowest  classes  is  the  supreme  evidence  of  the  hold  that  life 
has  on  man. 

That   the   government  could   do   much   to   alleviate   the 


298  JATAN    AT    Till-:    CROSS    ROADS 

miseries  of  the  slums  is  certain.  The  removal  of  the 
duties  on  imported  food-tuffs,  which  are  mij  o-ed  in  the 
interests  of  the  landed  proprietors  would  j^o  tar  t  >  help. 
Rice  i-  the  staple  food  ot  the  nation,  and  any  o'tn  i  d 
meddling  \\ith  it-  \.ilue  can  only  1>  ad  to  di-<  (intent  and 
di-a-ter.  In  handling  the  problem  ot  food  -upphe-  the 
otti'  lal  policy  i-  \acillatory  and  \a:;ue.  One  year  food 
i-  taxed  according  to  one  authority  to  maintain  the  price 
ot  hoine-vj-own  rice,  according  to  another  to  develop 
agriculture,  according  to  a  third  to  rai-e  revenue.  The 
next  \'ear  dutie-  are  redueed  or  remitted  to  louer  price-, 
or  to  encourage  tanners  to  increase  acreage  or  t  >  break 
corners,  dhis  lack  ot  unaniniiu  i-  t\pual  ot  all  e^ou-rn- 
nient  institutions.  It  would  at  lea-t  be  \\ell  to  in  all 
the  words  ot  Lord  Melbourne,  when  the  «  urn  dut\  was 
under  di-cu-sjon  b\  th  •  I>:iti-h  Cabin--;.  '  Well,  gentle- 
men, wh\  ap-  we  doin.;  it?  I-  it  to  rai- •  the  piiie 
of  i  orn.  to  lou.-r  th  •  pin  •-,  or  to  -teady  it?  \\dinhe\er 
it  i-,  let  u>  all  -ay  the  same  thine;'  about  it  ! 

Japan  remains  an  a^'ri'  ultural  countrv,  the  "j'e.i'.er 
|)art  of  her  population  bein^  -till  en^a^ed  in  tannin;.; 
or  allied  occupations  although,  a-  b-'tme  remarked,  tin-re 
is  a  steads  initiation  from  country  to  town.  In  \<n  ; 
<  o  per  rent,  ot  the  people  \\ere  dnHu;-  agricultural  \\oik. 
I  he  record  of  ^ovemnient  mti  rlereip  e  in  tin-  sphcie 
:'oe,  ba>  k  to  th'-  da>-  ot  th"  Sho^utiate,  \\hen  number-, 
ot  the  \uni!if<n  la!>oured  in  the  t;c  Id-  ot  th--  <Itr.ni  \'<) .  ,\t;ei 
the  Restoration  Mkubo  inten  e!\'  deve!oj)ed  oit'n  lal  -Lipei 
\i-ion.  and  obtain--.!  the  -"i\;«  <  -  ot  a  number  ot  (inman 
and  Ani'ii'an  '.xp'it  to  a-:-'  the  Monibudio.  I'ndei 
M  C  -ukata  the  ,|,  t  iv  |T  i,  ,  i ,(  the  ;  o\  c  i  ;ini-  nt  \\  i-re 
dllilllil  h'd.  but  ot  i-i'-nt  \eal-  they  ha\--  b«-en  a;.1. tin 
develop  -i i.  d  he  two  drawha-  k-  f loin  whl<  h  Japan  -ullci- 
.1/1;  ::''•;!. ill.  are  the  imni'ii  e  .:Pa  ol  iion-aiable  l.md 
and  th-  <  out  i';:i,i!u  ••  ot  m>  •- 1 ;.'  \  al  m<  t  h-  >d  - . 

1  •  i  <  al'  ula'ed  th  it  o  d  .  1  ind  ini  lin'-d  .it  !•  d:  m 
llfi«-'-n  (i<-;.';ee  i,  i  apable  ..t  utl!l/at!on,  and  U-  ll  la'.d 
aii.ouri1  .  ix  ludin;1  di  Hokkaido,  to  7  i  .; ; .  i  .,'  ,  <  /i«  ot 
u  hi  li  :,.  I  ^  '-' ,  "  '  »  i  'l(>  ar-  ,iip  ad'-  UI)<1<  I  '  ult  1\  at  ;on.  le,i\  in" 


SOCIAL   CONDITION'S  299 

about  ^o  per  cent,  yet  to  he  reclaimed,  which  is  being 
done  at  the  rate  of  17,000  r/io  per  annum.  Therefore  less 
than  20  per  rent .  of  the  total  area  ol  the  country  is  capable 
of  being  tilled,  and  at  present  only  aboti'  14  per  rent, 
is  under  cultivation.  It  is  not  une\pec:cdly,  therefore, 
that  Japan  has  come  to  tlr-  end  of  her  food  resources, 
and  is  obliged  to  impor:  rice  from  abroad.  The  normal 
crop  is  49, 9 1 0,85  5  AVJ/O//.  which  fall-  between  four  and 
live-  million  short  of  the  requirements  of  the  nation.  Ii 
stands  to  reason  that  il  the  acreage  cannot  be  largely 
expancled,  the  \icld  must  be  increased,  and  a  great  deal 
has  been  done  in  this  direction  by  the  us;-  of  fertili/er-. 
blight  preventives,  etc.  In  main  places  the  yield  ha  • 
increased  i<>^  per  cent,  as  against  forty  years  ago. 

That  the  acreage  could  be  further  in< Teased  and  the 
yield  immensely  developed  by  a  radical  change  in  the 
system  of  land  tenure1  and  culture  is  almost  certain. 
Japan  is  still  the  home  of  the  peasant  proprietor,  and 
wherever  \ou  go  in  the  country  the  eye  is  pleased  by  the 
picturesque  but  uneconomical  weeny  plots.  The  average 
si/e  of  these  rice  plots  is  o' I  o  of  an  acre,  and  54  per 
cent,  of  the  paddy  field.-  are  so  divided  and  held.  The 
average  si/e  of  the1  upland  farms  is  a  quarter  of  an 
acre,  and  three-quarters  of  the  to; a!  area  oi  such  farm- 
is  so  divided.  The  average  proprietor  owns  paddy  ploi  . 
up  to  7 '.>.}  acres,  and  this  class  accounts  for  52  per 
cent,  of  the  rice  acreage  of  the  country.  The  tenants 
distribute  their  yield  as  follows  : 

Rent "/  ",,  (  'hvay>  p. in!  in  iac) 

M.iumv  anil  i-x|vn-i •-<  '5  ''•> 

Costs  !.t'  li\  11114     --  ".. 

Profit   .  6  ",, 


Out  of  the  rent  the  proprietor  ha-  to  pay  all  taxes  and 
rates,  about  30  per  cent,  of  the  total  yield. 

Out  of  the  proprietor's  rent  and  out  of  the  tenant-' 
profit  has  to  be  paid  the  interest  and  redemption  of  the 


300  JAPAN    AT   THK   CROSS    ROADS 

huge  debt  under  which  agriculture  labours  in  japan. 
<  M'fu  ial  statistics  put  this  at  V  i  oo  jx-r  household  for 
jK-a-ant  proprietors,  and  \ '50  for  the  more  well-to-do, 
or  a  total  of  Y7oo.ooo.ooo.  I'nofiicial  but  more  tru-t- 
wortliy  statistics  put  the  total  at  over  a  thousand  million 
\en.  ami  the  in-  idence  ranges  from  Yi^o  to  Y;2o  per 
household.  Of  this  great  amount  the  vast  majori'v  is 
due  to  private  Usurers,  and  stands  at  12  to  21  |>er  cent, 
interest,  whilst  th'-  remainder  has  been  lx>rro\ved  from  tin- 
Agricultural  Hank-  at  5!  to  S  per  cent.  The  average 
profit  of  a  peasant  proprietor  is  Y  ;o  50  per  annum, 
which  does  not  leave  much  mar-in  for  interest  or  for 
investment  in  modern  instruments  and  in  fertili/ers.  A 
gradual  change  has  been  taking  place  with  the  steady 
increase  in  the  percentage  of  tenant  farmers,  due  to 
capitalists  either  buying  up  land  or  foreclosing  on 
mortgage-;.  'Ih"  development  has  not  been  for  the  better, 
as  the  rents  charged  are  extremely  high,  due  to  the  value 
of  land,  which  is  in  Japan  live  times  as  much  a>  in 
Kngland.  It  is  a  pity  that  if  the  land  is  to  Ial!  into 
the  hands  of  capitalists  that  these  men  do  not  abolish 
the  plot  syst"in.  which  would  increase  the  acreage,  and 
aid  the  introduction  o!  machinery  and  modern  methods. 
I  he  present  system  is  wasteful  and  expensive.  Horses 
cannot  be  iis-vl,  machinery  cannot  be  employed,  and  the 
profits  are  so  -mall  that  the  laborious  and  unpleasant 
u-e  of  night-soil  as  manure  has  not  yet  been  replaced 
bv  the  u-f  of  fertili/ers.  Japanese  ri> e  i>  groun  undei 
modern  londitions.  and  with  ri'sprctable  jirolit  in  Texas, 
and  costs  ^ ',  da\  >  of  labour  per  acre  a>  against  i  10 
da\s  in  Japan,  wl:i!-t  the  yi-  M  is  ^j  per  tent,  higher 

Th<-  d'thMiJt;,  ot  Ir.JMg.  as  alf.-(  ui:g  both  the  urban 
.unl  nnal  populations,  i  •,  one  \\!ii  h  <  ou!d  onl\  be  fully 
diM  us-ed  in  a  \-olum--  to  itself.  It  is  a  <jue-tinn  wlm  h 
i-  no!  ot  mod'-rn  ongin.  but  dat--s  ba'  k  to  l"iig  b'-loj-e 
the  tali  ol  :!f  Shogunat'-.  Its  imfMrtaiv  «•  dm  in:;  m  en; 
'.'•ar-  ha-  b'-'-n  pu  he  I  m'o  th--  f«  n'<-  ;t  i-nid  be.  aii-e  it 
i  'h'-  flrivin;;  for-  e  o!  ahno  ,t  ever\  oiiiiial  nio\e  in 
I.ipan.  It  <onne(tio::  \\it!i  foreign  pohi  v  i.  <  lo  >e  ;  it- 


SOCIAL   CONDITIONS  301 

intimacy  with  financial  {x>Iicy  is  obvious  ;  the  unrest 
which  it  has  provoked  is  the  cause  of  the  anti -Socialist 
anil  anti-Liberal  policies  of  successive  cabinets  ;  the  recent 
efforts  of  the  government  to  interfere  in  religious  matters 
has  one  of  its  reasons  in  the  desire  to  find  an  ethical  means 
»>f  satisfying  material  wants. 

It  may  be  reasonably  asked  why,  if  the  difficulty  of 
living  is  such  an  ancient  and  pressing  problem,  the  people 
themselves  have  not  demanded  and  obtained  some  satis- 
factory solution.  A-,  matters  stand  at  present  in  Japan 
the  pmple  have  little,  if  any,  say  in  the  matter  of  govern- 
ment. In  every  country  under  the  modern  system  then- 
is  a  parliament  and  a  cabinet,  and  in  that  cabinet,  or 
behind  it,  are  a  group  of  men  whose  names  are  often 
unknown  but  whose  powers  are  immense.  In  some 
countries,  as  in  (Jreat  Britain,  it  is  a  clique  in  the  cabinet. 
In  other  countries,  as  in  Russia  and  Japan,  it  is  a  clique 
outside  the  cabinet.  It  is  these  mystery  men,  these  pillars 
under  the  veranda,  these  Elder  Statesmen  who  are  the 
real  rulers  of  the  country.  They  decide  all  threat  questions, 
the  problems  of  peace  and  war,  and  in  Japan  they  have 
chosen  very  deliberately  a  policy  of  military  prestige 
rather  than  one  of  popular  contentment. 

Such  a  system  is  by  reason  of  the  country's  early 
history  peculiarly  successful  in  Japan,  and  peculiarly 
adapted  to  the  character  of  the  people.  After  centuries 
of  feudalism  it  has  been  impossible  for  the  Japanese  to 
eradicate  that  servility  and  complete  obedience  which  i> 
the  principal  feature  of  the  feudal  system.  The  bureau- 
cracy has  been  created  by  the  Elder  Statesmen  as  an 
immense  machine  for  the  registration  of  their  policies, 
and  whilst  they  may  admit  that  there  is  a  popular  will, 
they  arrogate  to  themselves  the  right  to  direct  and  explain 
that  will.  The  bureaucracy  is  practically  founded  on 
feudal  lines,  and  the  subservience  which  the  people 
formerly  rendered  to  their  local  overlords  has  been  trans- 
ferred by  an  easy  change,  mostly  one  of  name  alone,  to 
the  local  officials.  II  the  reader  should  happen  to  reside 
for  any  length  of  time  in  a  Japanese  village  he  is  almost 


302  JAPAN    AT    THK    CROSS    ROADS 

certain  to  have  an  op{x>rtunity  of  witnessing  the  paternal 
conduct  ot  officialdom.  Tin-  mayor  or,  in  that  beloved 
Japanese  phrase,  : he  '  proper  '  official,  will  lecture  his 
flock  on  any  subject  under  the  sun.  from  the  regulation 
way  to  make  rice-seed  beds  to  the  higher  branches  of 
political  economy  or  the  correi  t  manner  to  wear  a  frock- 
coat,  alway*.  i>a*i:i;_;'  his  remarks  on  the  stereotyped  instruc- 
tions ot  the  Home  (  Mti;  e.  It  is  uncommonly  difficult  for 
people  so  coddled  by  officialdom  to  <^et  a  hearing  for  their 
complaints,  and  even  if  the\  could  t;'ct  the  hearini;  to 
the  local  authorili'-s,  it  would  be  so  smothered  in  red 
tape  by  the  t;m  •  it  i^ot  to  Tokyo  as  to  be  inarticulate, 
winch  is  another  cause  for  the  present  unrest  be  in:;  sub- 
terranean rather  than  on  the  surface. 

To  the  numeroii*.  harrowing  at  counts  of  starvation  and 
mi-cry  the  bureaucratic  reply  is  as  unfeeling  .is  its  argu- 
ments   arc-    unsound.       Mr.    Nakashoji    Ken,    Minister    of 
Agriculture  and  Commerce,  in  the  third  Katsura  Ministry, 
said   that    sii>  h   conditions  were   not   to  be   complained   of, 
for    they    were-    the    re-ult    of    normal    development    rather 
than    of    any    circumstances    for    which    a    i;'overnment    or 
individual   <  ould    be    blanii-d.       He    --aid    that    the    taxation 
uas  liea\  y   and   the  i  urreiicy   mflatc'd.   but   these   were  e\il* 
uinch     would     be    cured     by     the    further    development     of 
indi:Mr\    and    (-initiation .        I  lie    tanlt    ua-    not    a    burdi-n 
on   'he  loiuiir.,   because  the-   increased  i  o-t    \\  a     set   oil    by 
the   iin  rea-e    in   pio>perit\,  and    he   reminded   In-,  audieine 
that   ri   e  had   risen  from   Y  I  .'   in    iSSi    to  \"jo.      He  failed 
to     remind     his     hearers     of     the     la-  t     that     taxation     falls 
IMM\|'--:    on    ill-    io-Ai-r    i  lasses    because    l\at-ura,    in    onlei 
io  ^.-:   h;s  bond  -  accepted,  e\i  'udi-d  di\  idends  on  L;O\  ei  n 
nient     jtapei     fioin     iin  oine    tax.        He    did     not     jioint     oil!. 
a--    Mr.    \\a!;er    I  Jen  in;.;    has    done,    th.it    le-s    than    hall    the 
i  orn  i  !     ini  oiue     tax     l-    collected     Itoin    the     Il'ii,     nor     that 
cnonno:  i  -,  t  ra   i  -  ot   build  in;;   land  in  the  <  n  ie  ,  .in-  annual  I1. 
lee  isjei  c. !    a      .i:;;i    u!;u;al    'and    to    avoid    t!.e    hi.  lie;      i    de. 
and   tha'    tin-   n-.;; -:  i  .e  ;..n   i-   \\mked   at   !>.    th     auihoi  i:  i-- . 
Noi     d:d     h'      pori!     o-it     that      (ap.m    I-    aiitraall\     inul<1     in 
•  nil  di»    po.  k<  t-  ot  tlie  •  n.;ar   .  am 


SOCIAL   CONDITIONS  303 

in  Formosa.1  lie  said  that  Japan  had  become  a  Great 
rower,  which  is  true  only  from  the  political  standpoint, 
but  he  forgot  to  show  that  Imperialism  has  meant  oppres- 
sion  and  misery  and  the  suppression  of  thought,  reason, 
art,  and  religion. 

A  Japanese  journalist,  writing  in  the  Jitsugyo-no-Sekai, 
said  :— 

"It  is  a  relic  of  the  feudal  times  to  draw  a  distinct 
line  of  demarcation  between  the  Government  officials  and 
the  rest  of  the  |x>pulace,  and  to  attach  supreme  weight 
and  importance  to  the  former  as  being"  far  above  the 
latter.  It  is  all  very  well  for  the  official  to  respect  himself 
as  a  trustee  ol  power,  but  tor  the  people  to  accord  him  a 
markedly  special  treatment,  as  if  he  were  of  nobler  race 
is  quite  nonsensical.  .  .  .  The  popular  tendency  of  over- 
rating officials  is  traceable  to  the  '  Government  -respect- 
ing", people  despising  idea,'  a  relic  of  feudalism.  Militarists 
of  olden  times,  however,  had  rightly  a  claim  to  be  regarded 
as  the  head  and  front  ot  the  nation,  rising  over  and  above 
the  general  current  of  the  times  in  their  unimpeachable 
principles  of  morality,  their  excellent  learning  and  their 
profound  wisdom.  Government  officials  of  to-day  have 
no  such  reasons  to  be  superior  to  the  general  public.  '1  he 
Privy  Council  is,  it  is  superfluous  to  say,  the  highest  organ 
ot  administration  in  direct  contact  with  the  Emperor,  and 
therefore  its  members  are  all  shining  lights  of  the  nation. 
However,  it  is  a  recent  tact  that  a  Privy  Councillor. 
while  Governor  a  few  years  ago,  possessed  himself  of  a 
valuable  gold  screen  by  suspicious  means.-  1  )oes  a  fellou 
who  is  so  mean  as  to  '  pocket  '  a  gold  screen  think  himself 
entitled  to  eulogixe  the  people? 


'  Sugar   cost    in    ii)'.>   -f,   >v 
excise. 

•  Baron  Sufn,  !  'rivv  (.Councillor  and  ex-(tovri  nor  of  l\;in.i^'iw:i  Km, 
was  alleged  to  have  acquired  :i  valuable  t^>id  >ereeii,  Ivloii^n.^  to  the 
KanaLjawa  I'rekvtural  ant'i*  >i  iiii1^.  \\'ii.iu-\fi  liic  l.icN  \veii-  the 
matter  wa.->  hushed  :ip  !>y  ti;e  iniltience  oi  ti;e  Kir  >n'>  patri.n,  1'iince 
Yam.i  j,;it.i,  who  was  rep'  i'tcvl  to  have  bei  n  tiie  uili:;i;ti.e  henclici.u'y. 
I'he  Uarou  re'-iyned  liis  oilice  and  hecaiue  :nk\\\ 


304  JAPAN    AT   THE   CROSS    ROADS 

One  of  the  most  striking  characteristics  of  the  Japanese 
is    the    facility    with    which    they    accept    compromise,    or 
even  worse,  the  ready  adoption  of  the  make-belief  for  the 
real.      I   have  referred  elsewhere  to  the  notorious  nayboen 
system,    by    which    an    event    is    well    known    in    fact    but 
officially  unrecognized.     For  example,  a  person  of  position 
dies,  but    though  all  the  world   knows  that   he   is  defunct, 
no   announcement    can   be   made   of   the   fact   until   official 
recognition  of  tin-  circumstance  has  been  obtained.    When 
the    late    Prince   Arisiigawa   died   .it    Maiko    in    1913,    the 
corpse   was    coffined    and    brought    up    to   Tokyo,    but    the 
announcement  of  his  decease  was  not  made  until  the  body 
hail  arrived  at  hi-,  palace.     Similarly,  when  the  Empress- 
Dowager  died  at  Numadzu  last  year  the  body,  dressed  in 
ceremonial  attire,  was  brought  to  Tokyo  three  days  later, 
was   met    at   Shimbashi   Station   by   the   dignitaries  of   the 
land,    placed     in    an     Imperial    landau    and,    escorted    by 
lancers   and    the    Imjx-rial    banner,   driven   to   the   .Aoyama 
Palace,  every  ceremony  being  carried  out   as  for  a   living 
per-on.      After    arrival    at    the    Palace    a    special    ( la/ette 
was     issued  :       "  Her     Majesty,     the     Empress     Dowager, 
arrived  at   the-  .\o\aina    Palace   from   Numadzu  this  even- 
ing."    A  little'  later  another  notification  was  issued  :    "  Her 
Majesty,     the     Empress     Dowager,    passed    away     at    the 
Aoyama    Pala*  e,"    even    a    fictitious    hour    and    minute    of 
death   being    attai  lied.      Thus    in    both   cases   was   the-   real 
truth    i:; 1 10 red,    the    customs    of    centuries    observed,    and 
the  etiquette  that  an  Imperial  per-onagv  cannot  die  outside 
of  a  c  ertain  radius  of  the  (  'hiyoda  Palace  strictly  enforced. 
Tin-,    spirit    of    compromise    is    to    be    found    throughout 
(apane-r    society.        It    i-    to    be    reeogni/ed    in    the    refusal 
to    a<  <  ept    payment    or    gift-,.       If    money    be    offered    to    a 
Japaiie-e  he  will  refuse  it.      In  reality  he  has  no  intention 
vvhat-oever   of    refusing,    but    it    is   not    etiquette    to   accept 
until   the   fourth   time  of    a-kin;r,   and   both    the   donor  and 

the     receiver      Well     know     tin-.1          Ilie     acceptall<e     of     the 

1   Till  -    li.ii  ill  v  .ipplii---  in  <!•   • 
!• ,    i.ikc    pcopi--    .it    then    v.c,i  <l.       |  ip 
|. ,i i  u'ncr  -,   i'ilt    im>ii.-   tii. in   <>!iic  .ind 


SOCIAL   CONDITIONS  305 

apparent  for  the  real  i^  to  be  seen  throughout  jxilitirs, 
business,  and  religion.  Nowhere  is  it  more  evident  than 
in  the  balance  sheets  of  financial  and  commercial  insti- 
tutions. I  have,  tried  to  show  elsewhere  that  the  whole 
|x>litical  system  in  Japan  is  make-belief.  The  demo- 
cratic movement  only  resulted  in  nominal  concessions, 
whilst  in  fact  the  official  power  was  widely  extended. 
In  religion  it  is  the  same.  The  Japanese  really  have 
no  fixed  religious  beliefs,  but  the  popularity  of  creeds 
and  sects  changes  with  startling  frequency  and  momentum. 
At  times  the  authorities  feel  the  need  of  some  ethical  force, 
or  recognixe  the  necessity  for  some  concession  to  tin- 
hysteria  of  thi'  moment,  which  may  have  its  origin  in 
sentiment  or  in  the  material  distress  of  the  people.  At 
such  times  officialdom  cudgels  its  brains  to  find  some 
formula,  which,  in  no  way  affecting  its  own  prestige  and 
authority,  will  at  least  warrant  the  belief  that  something 
is  being  done  to  meet  the;  popular  wishes.  It  was  this 
window-dressing  "  ability  which  gave  ri-e  to  the 
immense  extension  of  the  \inomiya  doctrine,  and  to  the 
vogue  of  the  Boshin  Rescript. 

Ninomiya  Sontaku,  the  Peasant  Sage,  was  born  in 
17^7  at  Kayama,  near  O  lawara.  His  father  was  a  man 
of  charitable  disposition,  who  gave  nearly  all  he  possessed 
to  the  poor,  and  who  was  finally  ruined  by  the  overflowing 
of  the  River  Sa,  which  destroyed  his  property.  When 
his  son  was  twelve  years  old  the  father  died.  The  boy 
showed  himself-  hard-working1  and  eager  to  learn.  On 
his  journeys  into  the  village  he  carried  a  -mall  tray  of 
.sand,  so  that  at  his  meals  and  halts  he  could  practise 
the  ideographs  with  the  aid  of  his  i  hopsticks.  When 
employed  in  hulling  rice  he  would  set  up  a  book  so 
that  each  time  as  he  walke-1  round  the  mill  he  could  read 
a  word  or  two.  He  devoted  much  of  his  time  to  studying 
rural  life,  and  devised  a  plan  for  planting  trees  along 
the  Sa  to  strengthen  its  banks  and  prevent  further  inun- 
dations. At  the  age  of  sixteen  lie  lost  his  mother,  and 
went  to  live  with  an  uncle,  a  mean  old  fellow.  \\  ho  scoffed 
at  his  studies,  and  grudged  him  oil  for  his  reading  lamp. 

20 


3o6  JAPAN    AT    THE    CROSS    ROADS 

After  .t  few  years  he  returned  to  Kayaina,  ami  by  much 
labour  re-obtained  his  father's  property,  and  restored  it 
to  .1  flourishing  condition.  Hearing  of  this  success.  a 
much -embarrassed  feudal  lord  of  <  Mawara  offered  him 
tlie  jx>st  of  manager,  which  he  accepted  on  terms  of 
,ib>olutc  authority,  and  in  five  years  handed  back  the 
property  free  of  debt  and  producing  a  respectable  income. 
His  next  venture  was  the  resurrection  of  Sakuramachi, 
a  district  which  had  fallen  into  threat  distress,  and  from 
once  fix-ding  800  families,  could  only  supply  130.  At 
the  end  of  twelve  years  from  his  granaries  he  fed,  during 
the  famine  of  iS^o.  forty  thousand  .souls  outside  of  the 
distri'  t,  and  lent  large  >ums  of  money,  the  product  of 
years  of  labour  and  economy.  It  is  to  be  understood 
that  Ninomiya  reaped  no  personal  advantages  from  hi.s 
actions,  beyond  the  respect  of  men  and  the  happiness  which 
good  work  give-..  The  rest  of  his  life  was  devoted  to 
similar  ventures,  and  he  died  in  the  seventh  year  of  Kaei 
(  1X54).  His  followers  have  established  a  religion  known 
as  Hotoku. 

Ninomiya  wa->  a  product  of  his  time,  an  age  when  the 
upper  classes  were  living  in  inordinate  luxury  and  ease, 
when  the  Shogunate  was  ra|)idly  imiMJverishing  the  land, 
when  religion  was  neglected  and  the  priests  were  vicious 
and  abandoned,  and  crini'-  was  rapidly  in  (he  ascendant. 
He  was  not  a  religious  man  in  the  modern  sense  of  the 
word.  lie  had  no  u-e  for  temples  or  priests,  lor  the 
former  swallowed  up  the  wealth,  whilst  the  latter  could 
not  prodin  e  it.  When  a  Huddhist  pne-t  came  to  see 
him,  Ninomiya  a-ked.  "Can  you  draw  a  bean?"  The 
pri<-st  did  so.  '  Will  a  hot  ^e  »-at  your  bean?  "  asked 
Nmoiniva.  Tin-  priest  shook  l)js  head.  "  A  horse  will 
•  •at  the-r  beans,"  said  Niiionnxa  du'ing  a  hand  into  his 
sleeve  and  prodM'  ing'  a  palm-1  ill  ot  the  real  article, 
lor  s(  holars  \v  had  as  little  reverence.  'Tiue 
i-,  not  a  knoul'-'li;e  of  book,.  Learning  i^  not 
unle-s  it  i-,  pra-  M<  a!,  and  •  arable  ol  |ua<  tical  application." 
"  (  iood  thought-  aie  ni<  e,  but  good  CoIldlK  t  l-  better." 
Speaking  of  the  th'-n  philosrjpliii  a!  renaissance,  he  said  : 


SOCIAL   CONDITIONS  307 

4  Tlir    scenery    of    Nikko    is   beautiful,    hut    it    cannot    be 
eaten." 

Though  Ninomiva  had  no  use  for  religion  as  he  found 
it,  he  created  a  religion,  the  principles  of  which  were 
patriotism,  morality,  and  industry.  Ilis  patriotism  wa->, 
it  is  to  he  presumed,  feudal  loyalty,  for  of  national 
patriotism  there  was  in  those  days  no  idea.  His  moral 
doctrine  was  combined  with  his  industrial.  Self-help, 
gratitude,  co-operation  wen-  counterbalanced  by  unfail- 
ing toil  and  economy.  Work,  useful,  physical  work  was 
to  be  the  anodyne  for  mental  anguish.  Oratitud'-  for 
favours  received  from  heaven  and  earth  and  man  meant 
a  continuance1  of  benefits  in  the  future.  Humanity  was  the 
great  virtue,  and  could  only  be;  learned  by  helping  other-,. 
His  industry  was  real.  A  terrific  worker  himself,  he 
had  an  eagle  eye  for  slackers  and  shammers.  A  gang 
leader  much  praised  one  of  his  men  for  his  hard  work, 
but  Ninomiva,  who  had  watched  the  man,  gave  him  a 
tearful  lecture,  because  he  only  worked  when  the  leader 
was  around.  An  old  man  was  upbraided  for  his  small 
output,  but  the  sage  reproved  the  foreman,  because  the 
man  was  old  and  actually  worked  as  hard  as  he  could, 
and  his  example  was  therefore1  good,  even  it  the  results 
of  his  labour  were-  .small.  lie  introduced  many  reforms, 
reclaiming  wa->te  land,  inijxirting  labour  where  hands  were 
few,  providing  homes  for  the  men  ;  he  lent  money  to 
fanners  without  interest,  only  demanding  that  the 
borrowers  should  stick  the  loan-ticket  on  the  family  altar 
and  express  gratitude  to  the  gods  each  day  ;  he  bought 
and  lent  out  implements,  and  organi/ed  sales  and 
purchases  on  a  co-operative  basis.  His  economy  was 
simple,  though  it  has  attained  great  renown.  ttundo 
was  the  fixing  of  a  limit  to  expenditure,  and  this  limit 
must  be  within  the  margin  of  income.  As  a  corollary, 
all  extravagance  and  luxury  wciv  to  be  avoided.  It 
the  Ninomiya  do. 'trine  be  summarized  it  consisted  of 
sincerity,  industry,  economy,  and  service.  He  recom- 
mended no  special  religion  or  code  of  ethics.  He  said  : 
"  As  various  paths  lead  to  the  top  of  Fuji,  so  truth  may 


308  JAPAN    AT   THK   CROSS    ROADS 

be  reached  through  various  religions.  My  own  is  a 
spoonful  of  Confucianism,  with  half  a  s|x>onful  each  of 
Buddhism  and  Shinto." 

The  recent  history  of  Hotoku  is  a  striking  example  of 
the  hall -measures  which  the  Japanese  are  ready  to  accept 
in  amelioration  of  their  social  troubles.  In  i<;o.S,  when 
the  country  was  suffering  under  the  supreme  depression 
which  followed  the  boom  of  1906-7,  the  authorities  sought 
a  way  out  of  their  difficulties,  and  naturally  enough  a  way 
which  should  avoid  their  own  errors  and  rnal-administra- 
Uon.  They  decided  that  the  cause  of  the  trouble  was 
the  extravagance  and  luxury  of  the  people,  and  the 
Bo-hin  Rescript  on  thrift  was  issued,  enjoining  the  reduc- 
tion of  expenditure,  the  increase  of  economy  and  strict 
fulfilment  of  the  doctrines  of  Ninomiya.  Co-operative 
societies,  for  the  propagation  of  those  doctrines,  wen* 
established  under  august  patronage,  and  these  now  number 
1,'>4O  controlling  funds  to  a  total  of  Y  i  9.000.000. 

It  was  typical  of  the  governmental  attitude  to  charge 
the  extravagance  and  enjoin  the  thrift  on  the  people, 
whilst  their  own  reckless  expenditure  and  borrowing  con- 
tinued unchecked,  and  it  was  ecjiially  characteristic  ol 
the  people  to  accept  an  Imperial  pronouncement  on  the 
Ninomiya  cloctime  as  a  sul!i<  lent  relief  ol  their  own 
burdens.  As  results  have  -hown,  the  Mo  Inn  Rescript 
ha-,  been  a  cli-a-tiou^  failure.  It  encouraged  ancl  ;;ave 
a  -enn-<li\  ine  authority  to  a  parsimony,  uhi'h  t|uic  kly  led 
to  a  stagnation  of  trade.  (  )n  the  one  hand  n  ordered 
a  s.ivm;1;  ol  money,  on  the  cither  an  increase  of  produc- 
tion. Mui  what  wa  •;  the  :;ood  of  developing!;  output  if 
the  m.uket  wa-.  simultaneously  tlo-ed.  I  he  Mushin 
Re  .(  ript  totall1.  ignored  the  (han;;e<I  conditions  in  Japan 
sin-  e  the  da\s  of  Ninomiya.  ancl  that  the  safe's  aeiurie-. 
\\efe  mainly  directed  to  the  development  of  uasie  areas, 
aii'l  not  ol  modern  indus'.  11-  .  II  the  ilieo:ic>  ol  Ninomiya 
\\-eie  to  have  had  any  benethial  diet  1  at  all  in  I  <;()  \ 
the'/  -hould  ha\'e  b'-en  eiii'uned  on  the  Annv  ami  the 
N.i\\  and  ill-  1'iea^uiv  i.i'li'-i  than  on  tin-  •  oninioii 


SOCIAL   CONDITIONS  309 

No  mention  of  vague  and  inchoate  schemes  of  relief 
should  omit  a  reference  to  the  Red  Cross  Society,  and  to 
the  .SY/sr/A'iu//,  the  Imperial  Charity  Fund.  Th<-  former 
must  be  one  of  the  largest  organi/aiions  of  its  kind  in 
the  \vorld.  It  wa  ^  founded  l>y  the  la'e  Counts  Sano  and 
Ogyu  at  the  time  of  the  Satsiima  rebellion,  to  give  relief 
to  the  sick  and  wounded,  joined  the  Hague  Treaty  in 
i.SSo,  and  during  the  China  War  had  its  fust  opportunity 
of  demonstrating  its  utility  and  efli>  ie:icy.  'I  he  Society 
has  in  the  past  done  much  for  the  cause  of  charity,  but 
during  the  present  century  has  become  to  all  intents  and 
purposes  an  attachment  of  the  War  and  Naval  Depart- 
ments. The  imperial  patronage  and  th"  privileges  j^iven 
to  members  have  gained  for  it  an  enormous  membership 
and  corresponding  financial  benefits,  yet  practically  the 
only  work  it  does  is  the  maintenance  of  a  few  hospitals, 
which  are  to  all  intents  and  purposes  Sanatoria  lor 
government  officials  and  officers.  Japanese  critics 
describe  the  Society  and  its  magnificent  headquarters 
in  Shiba  as  '  the  palace-  of  mystery.'  From  being  an 
extremely  u-.eful  institution  for  the  relief  of  sickness,  tin- 
Society  has  become  a  training  school  for  nurses  and 
doctors  for  the-  Army  and  Navy,  and  has  recently  been 
placed  under  the  supervision  of  the  Ministers  of  those 
two  departments,  with  a  General  as  Director.  The 
finances  of  the  Society  are  not  without  interest,  especially 
for  those  studying  the  Japanese  military  system.  In 
1911  the  annual  income  was  \'42<S,ooo%  whilst  the  Reserve 
Fund  stood  at  Y24. 077.000.  of  which  YjV'So.ooo  was 
cash  in  hand  and  on  call,  and  the  balance  in  securities. 
The  annual  expenditure  totalled  for  hospital  and  relief 
purposes  Y 105, 700,  and  for  office  expenses  Y2<So,ooo. 
Only  sixty-three  rases  of  relief  were  dealt  with  by  this 
great  charitable  organization  during  the  year.  It  is 
certainly  not  a  matter  tor  surprise  that  the  members 
complain  that  they  are  being  hoodwinked  under  the  guise 
of  charity  into  financing  a  branch  of  the  military  services. 

The  Imperial  Chanty  .Association  is  a  bird  of  the 
same  family.  It  was  started  by  an  Imperial  donation 


310  JAPAN    AT   THK    CROSS    ROADS 

of  V  i, 5 00,000  in  1910.  and  was  stated  by  the  second 
Katsiira  Ministry  to  be  intended  tor  the  provision  of 
medical  assistance  for  the  poor.  The  use  of  the  Imperial 
name  and  cash  gave  it  immediate  jx>pularity,  and  tin 
government  Used  every  form  of  oflicial  and  semi-official 
|  re-sure  to  promote  it.  As  government  funds  were  not 
available,  iMs  were  drawn  up,  and  the  wealthy  reieixcd 
intimations  ot  how  much  they  had  each  to  subscribe. 
This  method  of  benevolence  produced  promises  of  over 
YjO.  000,000.  and  cheques  to  Y  5,000.000.  With  the 
tall  of  the  Katsiira  Ministry  nothing  more-  has  been  heard 
of  the  attair.  No  meetings  have  been  held,  no  rejxnts 
furnished,  and  nothing  done  for  the  obje<  ts  mentioned 
in  the  Imp'-rial  Rescript  bevond  an  appropriation  of  a 
quarter  ot  a  million  vcn  for  investigating  purposes.  'I  he 
\\hole  scheme  was  in  reality  an  hysterical  concoction, 
resultant  on  the  Kotoku  attair.  It  was  a  theatrii  al  attempt 
to  prove  to  the  lower  classes,  what  was  impossible  ot 
demonstration  a  sympathy  ot  the  government  tor  the 
•  •  Miditjon  > >l  the  masses. 

There  are  one  or  two  funny  anecdotes  in  circulation 
with  regard  to  the  Imperial  Charity  Association.  The 
following  was  recounted  to  m--  by  the  victim.  A  young 
and  very  w  a'thv  '  nut  '  of  Tokyo  was  advi-ed  by  his 
family  to  -tti'ly  bu-ine-s,  and  a>  cordingly  obtained  a 
position  in  th"  In<!u~t-:al  Hank  a^  a  il'-rk  at  \  15  [MT 
month.  Heing  indejM-ndent  ot  his  salary,  he  drove  every 
(lav  to  the  b. ink  in  a  phaeton  behind  the  smartest  pan 
in  lok'.o,  and  lelt  every  evening  in  the  same  manner. 
Having  -pent  -onie  months  at  the  monotonous  labour  ot 
rattling  tli<-  u!><ti'u\,  \i>-  de<  Med  to  demand  an  increase 
o!  wages,  and  put  in  a  formal  and  humble  appli-atioii 
loi  an  in  i' a  <•  ot  --alar,  by  Y  ;.  p<-r  men-em.  I  he  mattei 
r.it'-d  b.  the  'lire!  tors,  and  in  due  course  he 
lell'T  it  legivt  ilia'  hi-  -ervi<  es  vveie  onlv  vvnilh 
I  hi  alii'1  ]  x  .  I  h  received  a  no;  i!n  a!  ion  that 

)i  )     to     t  he      |  lllpel  l.ll 


SOCIAL  CONDITIONS  311 

to    certain    financial     expectations    having    unfortunately 
failed." 

The  poor  in  Japan  are  unhappily  between  two  stool, 
I'nder  the  family  system  there  is  little  SCOJK-  for  public 
benevolence,  but  with  the  increase  of  individualism 
resjx>nsibility  falls  from  the  family,  and  as  yet  in  Japan 
there  is  no  proper  system  whereby  weaker-  brethren  can 
be  heljX'd,  and  such  ill-organi/cd  and  hysterical  eliorts 
as  the  Stisrfk:i(ii  cannot  prove  of  value.  As  unions 
for  mutual  help,  except  under  the  annihilating  official 
patronage,  arc  difficult  of  formation,  owing  to  the  confusion 
in  the  offn  ial  mind  between  them  and  trades  unions,  there 
seems  to  be  nothing  for  the  Japanese;  |x>or  to  do  but 
die. 

Luxurious  tendencies  are  constai.tly  quoted  a-  a  caiiM- 
<>1    financial  and  economic  depre^-ion   in  Japan.      1    woul.l 
not  deny  for  a  moment  that  extravagance  and  inefficient  y 
are  two  ol    the  existing  evils  of  the  country.      It    luxuries 
me. in  an  advance  in  the  standard  of  living,  it  is  fallacious 
to  argue  that  they  check  the  progress  of  the  nation.      The 
consumption    of    meat,    if    it    became    general    throughout 
Japan,    would    be    a    very    considerable    advance    in    the 
standard  of  living",  but  it  would  be  entirely  wrong  to  class 
it    as    a    luxury,    which    would    impoverish     the    country. 
Rather  would    it   be  of  considerable   benefit,   for   it    would 
greatly    develop    stock-farming,    encourage    agriculture    to 
provide   fodder   and    improve   the   stamina   of   the    people. 
Sumptuary    laws    have   never   succeeded    in    their   objects, 
and  only  lead  extravagance  into  artificial  channels.     When 
the   Tokugawas    forbad    the  wearing   of   silk,   and   the   Use 
of  gold   and   silver  ornaments   in   Yedo.   it    merely   created 
an  outward   show  ot   humility,   for  the  citizens   lined   their 
cotton  kimono  with  silk,  whil-t  tobacco  pouches  and  orna- 
ments   were    made   of    gold    and    silver    coated    with    iron, 
a    quaint    conceit    still    to    be    discerned    in    the    Tokyo    of 
to-day.      When    Philip    11    ot    Spain    forbade    the    use    ot 
silken    skirts    for    the    merchants'    womenfolk,    they    took 
to    wearing    gorgeous    petticoats,    and    even    a    few    years 
ago  in  Bogota  and  other  parts  of  Spanish  South  America 


312  JAPAN    AT    THE    CROSS    ROADS 

a  woman's  r.ink  was  estimable  by  the  number  ami  elegance 
of  her  underclothes.  Luxurious  tendencies  an-  un- 
doubtedly rife  in  Japan,  but  they  are  to  be  observed 
amount  the  upper  classes  and  government  official-,  and 
little  enough  is  done  by  the  authorities  to  die*  k  t;:eir 
e\tra\ 'again  e.  The  prodigality  ol  an  Iwakura  or  an 
<  >tam  i-  only  a  matter  for  restraint  when  it  produce- 
a  public  -caudal.  1  hat  a  high  oliicial  of  the  Imperial 
1  fou-chold  should  be  deprived  of  ottice  and  title-  1<>I 
lontracting  debts  ot  Y3.ooo,ooo,  and  afterwards  figure 
HI  the  law  courts  for  a  matter  of  a  necklace  \alu«-d  at 
Y-  5,000  given  to  his  mistre-s.  a  Shimba-hi  i^ci^/it/.  and 
not  paid  tor.  was  presumptive  evidence  that  thril;  needed 
preaching  nearer  to  high  (juarters  than  the  lio.shin  Re-i  npt 
ua-  aimed. 

Authority  in  Jap. in  never  ha  ncogni/ed  any  m<>t" 
in  it-  own  eye.  and  certain  -ecuon-  ot  society  have  alua\- 
been  rather  petted  and  praised  tor  their  e\tra\  agam  e. 
A  la-'e  lor  literature,  a  ion\e;,ient  memory  for  the  <  <»n- 
lii'ian  Anale<  ts,  a  jdea-ing  «liserimination  in  food,  and 
a  careles  i  di-regard  tor  nionev  ha\c  inure  often  than 
not  l»e.-M  a  pa--j)oit  to  po-nion  a:;  1  otlit  e.  'I  hi-  i-  b\ 
no  meai.s  -trange,  when  it  i-  !<••  a'led  that  the  -ole  o<  i  upa 
t;«.i  D|  the  K\.-to  ('  nut  wa -.  tin-  turning  of  phra-  -  .n.d 
ih'-  (  iill<  ()c;  ion  of  J>oei;i>.  inter-pel  st-d  \\ith  af.endalu'- 
'•II  a  throne  n.  cupied  \\i'h  the  -inn'ar  hard  la!»our.  A 
like  lend'-ii'  .  \\  i !  1  \«-  found  in  all  (ountiies  uheie  eon 
i  ubina;.;e  i  •  jK-l'imt  t-'i ! .  <  'on  I  '.:<  in-  a\  -  :  '  I  he  eha  i  in 
•  >t  the  fell  in  n  lie  u\  ei  i  oniet  ll  111''  t  I'ong  lna!1.'-  \\lil,"  ,i'id 
it  i  ijuii'-  uiidei  sta:nlable.  \\diaie\cr  nia\  !  «•  :he 
th<oic'i  al  ])o-it.on  o!  uoinan  to  man,  llieie  i,  i.o  iloiib' 
that  b-  Icii  1  t!i'-  ^ho'j!  \\\<  ofte;  ->i-x  i>  ;h  •  slri-ngei  jiaitne:. 
and,  »t  •  our-e.  nuiiilie:-,  t  II  \-  a  Japai.ee  u  liter  I 
lia\e  ail'ad.  <juot"d  ha  J;<i;i:ied  out.  the  v.^nim  of  t!ie 
middle  and  upj><T  '  ;a  e>  ate  (  nin.;  i  all-e  ot  e\tia\a 
gain  e. 

Ano'h'-;  undo'i!  i' "d  ••  e. :  •  <\  e\t  ra\  a;;at,<  a  d  n:i«' 
..  Is1'  ii  b  ;  .a;  in  •  :. .  pi  . .  >  >' .•  r  'eir  \<  >:\  \  \  \\  <  m  i;  •  I . 
.->  tli<  halo'a'  ell -.  <i  iipi.i.  mi  \  ,  u  hi>h  lia  d«-\  eloped 


SOCIAL   CONDITIONS  313 

into  a  terrible  self-conceit  since  the  war  with  Russia. 
As  the  outside  world  ha-,  understood  for  a  long  tune, 
Japan  did  n<»t  gain  a  glorious  victory.  At  the  best  it 
was  a  drawn  conflict,  and  it  it  had  been  continued  Japan 
might  conceivably  have  suffered  an  actual  defeat.  It 
would  |>crhaps  be  unreasonable  to  expect  the  leaders 
ol  the  nation  to  have  explained  thi -,,  but  it  is  not  un- 
reasonable to  blame  them  for  having  gone  to  the  other 
extreme  and  u--ed  (he  war  as  the  basis  for  an  orgy  of 
sell -glorification.  'I  he  result  has  been  to  fill  the  jx-ople 
with  sill\  ideas  of  their  own  importance  and  worth,  \\ith 
the  consequence  that  though  in  na'ural  resources  one  of 
the  jM)orest  countries  in  the  world,  over-taxed,  over-popu- 
lated, and  underfed,  Japan  has  been  trying  to  ape  richer 
and  far  more  prosperous  nations.  '  The  shell  of  the 
crab  define^  the  si/e  of  its  hole,"  is  a  proverb  which  ha- 
gone  out  ol  mind  during  recent  years.  The  eulogistic 
lectures  ol  school  teachers,  saturated  with  bureaucracy, 
has  created  a  class  of  student  which  is  likely  to  cause 
trouble  in  the  future.  If  schoolboys  are  brought  up  in 
the  belie!  that  the  acquisition  of  money  is  all  that  counts, 
the  outlook  is  poor.  Few  Japanese  are  taught  either 
at  home  or  at  .school  that  there  should  be  any  relationship 
between  income  and  expenditure.  Speaking  generally, 
figures  have  no  interest  for  Japanese,  who  in  money 
matters  are  gloriously  vague  and  painfully  optimistic, 
.mother  relic  of  feudalism. 

The  social  evil  is  a  very  important  cause  of  extra\a- 
gance,  and  here  I  refer  not  only  to  th<-  inhabitants  of 
the  yoxlinrura,  but  also  t<>  the  ^ciJiti.  The  looseness  ol 
|a]anese  sexual  morality  is  a  hyword  in  America,  and 
the  length  of  the  China  coast,  wherever  ;hcrc  are  Japanese 
settlements.  Describing  the  Japane-e  colony  outside  Oak- 
land in  California,  a  Japanese  writes  :  '  The  population 
is  too.  Then1  are  tliirte  n  inn-,  ti;ir;ee!i  billiard-rooms, 
six  or  seven  restaurants  and  bar-,  besides  a  number 
of  brothels  and  gambling -hells."  The  foreigner  in  con- 
sidering Japane-"  moralit)  i-  .dways  in  difficulty  whether 
to  describe  it  as  unmoral  or  immoral.  I  he  prevalence 


JAl'AN    AT   TUP:   CROSS    ROADS 

of  courtesans  is  an  evil,  which  figured  prominently  in 
the  earliest  accounts  of  Japan,  and  is  as  prominent  to-day. 
The  record^  of  the  Dcshima  factors  prove  the  equanimity 
with  which  the  natives  regarded  feminine  frailly  in  pre- 
Resjoration  days,  whilst  the  title  of  Court  Ladies,  until 
only  a  few  years  ago,  was  a  euphemism  for  secondary 
wive-,  of  the  Mikado.  (The  present  Emperor  is  the 
son  of  a  concubine,  his  mother,  the  Lady  Vaniguwara 
having  been  chusen  to  bear  the  Imperial  offspring  by 
the  late  Empre>s  Haruko,  when  the  doctors  declared 
th'-  latter  barren.  *  \\'ith  the  prov.itutes  of  the  yo^hnvuru 
and  other  licenced  (juarters,  we  arc'  not  concerned  here 
beyond  saying  that  they  and  their  maids  number 
i.Soo.ooo.  and  that  in  all  then-  are  some  ^,000,000 
persons  in  Japan  living  directly  or  indirectly  from  the 
proceed^  of  legali/ed  prostitution,  excluding  gci^hu  and 
parents,  of  prostitutes.  Female  honour  has  little  value 
in  Japan  beyond  a  financial  one,  and  a  daughter  or  a 
v.  ife  must  sacrifice  herself  for  her  family  or  her  husband 
in  accordance  with  filial  piety  or  obedience.  Two  in- 
stances of  this  cam  •  under  my  jKT.sonal  notice.  My  cook 
gave  notice,  and  in  reply  to  inquiries,  informed  my  wife 
she  mils?  return  to  her  village  to  look  after  h»r  parents, 
as  her  father,  who  had  made  a  bad  ^pe.  ulation,  had 
been  obliged  to  sell  his  other  daughter  '  to  the  naught) 
hie'  to  pay  some  of  his  debts.  The  otln-i  ease  was 
that  of  an  emplov '•  of  an  American  <  onipaiiy.  who  ein- 
be/xN-d  some  hundreds  of  yen.  He  had  the  alternative 
ol  refunding  tin-  money  or  being  prosecuted,  and  uas 
given  tlnee  da'.s'  gra<  e  to  d<  i-le.  At  the  end  of  three 
day-  he  Teturn-  d.  a  coin]ia;;icil  b\  ih  •  whole  family,  gr.i  i  1 
[•areiit-,  parents,  and  three  sister-*.  An  oiler  \\as  made 
for  nio^t  of  ih'-  inon'-y  to  !)-•  rej>aid  \\rlnn  a  few  days, 
tli--  b.ilam  e  after  s|\  months.  Ilnw  \\a-  the  moil'  \  g"ing 
to  b«-  iai-ed?  Ih"  grand'a'her  evplaillcil.  I  he  t  \\  o 
eldest  •  'ill-  \\'Te  \»  go  at  once  into  a  brothi  1,  and  ;he 
\oung--  '.  uh"  was  noi  •, .  t  sixteen.  ,i-  soon  .!•  .}\<-  ifa.hed 
MM!  ag--  I  h  inaliagei  rang  hi-,  bell  and  ent  Joi  a 


SOCIAL   CONDITIONS  315 

One  of  the  most  knotty  jx)ints  that  came  before  the 
courts  during  1012  had  to  do  with  the  mortgage  of 
a  wife.  The  husband  Ixjrrowed  money  and  handed  over 
his  spouse  as  security.  Some  months  later  lie  sought  to 
redeem  his  projx-rty,  but  lK)th  wile  and  mortgagee  refused 
a  settlement,  and  the  judge  had  to  decide  whether  the 
mortgage  of  a  wife  w.is  legal,  and  if  so  whether  tin- 
wife  can  refuse  to  be  redeemed.  I  believe  the  matter 
was  finally  settled  by  the  husband  divorcing"  the  wife 
and  keeping1  the  money. 

The  <rfis/ia  was  originally  an  entertainer,  dependi-nt 
solely  on  her  art  and  accomplishments.  She  was  the 
Japanese  equivalent  of  the  high-class  hdairti  of  Athens, 
whosf  company  was  much  sought  by  the  literary  and 
fashionable  men.  A  <^cisli(i.  then  as  now,  was  as  much 
a  part  of  a  banquet  as  the  sake  or  the  rice,  but  then  her 
company  wa->  sought  for  the  amusement  she  provide;!, 
but  now  for  more  equivocal  purposes.  During  the  past 
\ears.  and  the  decadence  of  the  profession  does  not  extend 
back  more  than  twelve  years,  the  condition  and  occupation 
ot  these  girls  has  completely  changed.  The  ^CI\/HI  who 
are  only  entertainers  are.  few  and  far  between,  and  the 
vast  majority  are  practising  illicit  and  secret  prostitution. 
There-  an-  over  5,000  gcis/id  in  Tokyo,  and  it  is  estimated 
that  a  sum  of  twelve  thousand  yen  is  s]X'nt  every  nigh; 
for  their  services,  which  represents  a  very  considerable 
annual  revenue,  and  the  greatest  jxjrtion  of  this  amount 
is  for  their  physical,  and  not  for  their  mental,  charms. 
In  addition  to  these  may  be  added  tea-house  girls, 
waitresses,  and  other  classes,  whose  nominal  occupations 
are  only  cloaks  for  Mrs.  Warren's  profession.  The  in- 
mates of  the  yoshiwara  number  about  5,000.  and  increase 
at  the  rate-  of  100  per  annum.  The  number  of  licenced 
gets/id  increases  at  double  this  figure,  whilst  the  total 
number  of  this  secret  army  of  ("ythera  is  said  to  exceed 
100,000.  The-  amount  of  revenue  thcv  obtain  may  be 
suggested  b\  the  fact  that  a  er/V/r/  of  fair  renown  di->- 
inir-es  annuallv  Y^.Soo.  It  is  v  T\  difficult  to  obtain 
exact  or  even  approximate  figures,  but  the  reports  of  the 


316  JAPAN    AT    TIIK    CROSS    ROADS 

Army  do  tors  have  drawn  very  serious  attention  to  the 
menace  to  public  health,  which  tae  failure  of  the  segrega- 
tion s\>tein  entails,  whilst  the  investigations  of  Professor 
Iliranuma  of  Wa-eda  I  Diversity  demonstrate  the  social 
and  economic  dangers  whii'h  arc  now  becoming  apparent. 
1  lie  problem-^  of  the  gcisfni  and  the  yoshiwara  rai-e 
the  whole  que-t:o;i  ot  the  jx>si;ion  of  women  in  Japan. 
<  M  the  hundred-  of  thousands  ot  women  leading  a  life 
')!  shame,  few  are  doing  MI  Irom  vanity  or  from  choice. 
1  he\'  havi-  been  toned  to  -acntice  themselves  in  re-ponse 
to  tin  orders  ol  those  in  authority  over  them.  The  inmates 
«>t  the  ^ci^lhi  house,  of  the  nuichiai  and  the  yos/tni'iiru. 
It  ail  a  life  of  ab-olute  slavery,  and  in  all  but  a  tew 
ru-.es  it  i>  a  life  «t  considerable  physical  hard-hip.  1  he) 
aie  bound  lor  a  number  of  yai's  to  their  proprietors,  and 
there  is  practically  no  limit  to  the  power  ot  the  latter. 
.\<>t  only  i-  this  ruinous  to  the  physique  and  moral'-  ot 
the  women  themselves,  but  they  are  beroming  a  serious 
in*  nare  t<>  the  State  itselt.  Alin<i-t  tln-jr  on  I)'  <  haiu  e 
•  •I  t  n-edoin  is  to  imd  a  lover  who  \\ill  be-  ome  sufficiently 
enamoured  to  pun  ha>e  :ln-n  r.  1  a-<'  or  generous  enough 
in  git'N  to  enabli-  them  to  aina-s  a  hoard  to  the  same 
i  nd.  1  hat  ill'-  loim-r  ottr:i  01  cur>  is  w,  1!  knoun.  and 

•-oni-  of  til'4  Illi'-,;  j)lolin:i'-!lt  of  the  --o.  lal  ho--te>-.es  ot 
I  ok\  o,  <  )  -aka.  and  K  \  oto  ha\  e  a>  tjUli  e  1  th<-ir  attainnieiit-' 
apj.'i  *  -:ii  i<  I'd  in  a  ^<:^/i<i  hou-e.  Tin-  tir-t  wife 
l'!i;n'-  K.it-ui'a  wa-  a  famous  j^r/s////  of  Nago\a 
i-  to  In-  -i  -en  daily  in  I  he  id  ord>  of  tin-  criminal 
p-  embe/xli-ment.  fr.md,  an<l  roiiber)'  a;e  again 
.ii'i  (liagnoi-j  a-  (lue  to  iiitnguo  with  courtesan-- 
/*/.  It  is  not  t  >  be  io;,(»-aled  that  ;h.-  \\i--'-r  head> 
|.t|M;i  ar«-  awak'-iiing  to  tic  c  danger-,  but  it  r-  doubt- 
tu!  if  t  IP  I  r  i  utln  i  lit  i  oil,  li.'  i;.  ciisi  abl  oad  in  the  i  oun:  ! 
to  !iiii:t  tli'-  xt'i\hti  and  Ir-i  !'•—  r'!io\'.n<-d  «  ollcagues  to 

'  lr  II      it 


(•  '.s    )  ear-,  t  hou;1  h  it  li.i 
i  ;t  on    \\lu<  'i    ;t    o.  .  ap:-- 


SOCIAL    CONDITIONS  317 

been  regulated  according  to  an  ann'-nt  moral  (ode,  \\.\\\t  h 
is  summarized  in  tin-  Onna  Dtiiguku.1  In  -Imrt,  it  is 
obedience  to  the  father  Ix-fore  marriage,  to  the  husband 
during  marriage,  and  t<>  the  son  during  widowhood.  Hie 
whole  idea  ot  woman  is  negative,  a  condition  whi<  h 
dates  from  the  rise  of  tin;  Shognnate.  \\'onian  was  and 
is  the  chattel  ot  her  lord  and  master,  be  he  father, 
husband,  or  son.  Her  principal  characteristic  is 
stupidity,'  and  her  principal  virtue  blind  submission  to 
her  in -laws.  The  demarcation  of  the  v\e-i  in  Japan 
has  been  hardly  less  complete  than  in  India  or  Turkey, 
even  though  there  is  no  ptirda'i  or  zenana.  There  is 
no  possession  that  the  aristo-.-rats  guard  more  jealously 
than  their  women  until  the  time  comes  to  reali/e  their 
assets  by  strengthening  their  family  intluence  by  ad- 
vantageous marriages.  To  the  lower  classes  the  women 
are  no  less  an  asset,  though  the  reali/ation  is  often  in  cash 
value.  The  feminine  in  Japan  are  strictly  guarded  from 
all  entanglements  until  the  propitious  moment,  but  no 
restriction  is  imposed  on  the  predatory  instincts  of  the 
males.  It  is  this  onc-sicUxlncss  of  life  against  which 
the  Feminist  movement  is  directed.  The  position  of 
women  is  an  outcome  of  the  family  .system,  and  with 
that  jiosition  women  are  frankly  bored.  They  are  no 
longer  content  to  be  the  property  of  man,  but  demand 
education,  the  right  to  think,  and  the  right  to  act.  Kven 
to-day  women  are  not  allowed  to  attend  jxilitii  al  meetings, 
but  are  classed  under  the  exi-ting  law  as  '  vagabond-, 
robbers,  and  Liberals'  «md  a  proposal  in  i<;i2  to  amend 
the  law  so  as  to  permit  tlvir  at:e:;  lance  was  rejected  on 
(io\  eminent  initiat:ve  by  a  large  majority.  That  there 
is  as  yet  no  properly  organi/.ed  movement  of  revolt  is 
true,  and  the  organi/ation  of  such  a  movement  would 
meet  with  scant  courtesy  from  the  powers  that  be,  for 
it  would  surely  be  regarded  as  a  stop  as  dangerous  as 

'  K:iib:ir:i  Kkkcn.  t'-c  author  of  Omia  /\;\',;;:<  .The  (IKMUT 
Learning  for  \Yoim'n>  was  .1  l.ijvm.^r  inoialist  of  t!n-  ri^l-.tci-nth 
century;  see  \Vsmcn  anJ  \Visdsm  of  ~i\i'-an.  Muiray.  IMI;:  Tl::".^ 
•/'ii^u'itSt',  b  Professor  Risil  Chainbei  lain. 


318  JAPAN    AT    THK    CROSS    ROADS 

the  Kotoku  plot.  It  docs  not  seem  likely  th.it  authority 
will  willingly  do  much  to  lighten  the  degradation  and 
humiliation  of  the  sex.  When  Dr.  Kliot  of  Harvard 
wrote  ur^rinx  an  improvement  in  the  educational  facilities 
for  women,  \'IM  ount  Kancko  deliberately  altered  the  letter, 
putting  into  the  Doctor's  mouth  words  of  such  opposite 
view  as  to  produce  a  stin^in;^  rebuke.  Tin-re  is  strong 
opposition  to  the  emancipation  of  women,  based  curiously 
enough  on  a  possible  darker  to  the  morals  of  the  com- 
munity. It  is  unfortunately  true  that  some  leaders  oj 
the  movement  have  expressed  views  on  matters  better 
undisclosed  in  public,  but  there  is  no  reason  to  believe 
th.it  any  serious  degeneration  »f  the  feminine  virtues  would 
result  from  greater  freedom.  In  any  case  it  is  doubtful 
whether  the  experiment  could  produce  any  worse  state 
of  alTairs  than  that  which  exists  at  present,  with  the 
glorification  of  vice  in  the  yo>.hi\\-ar<i.  the  slavery  of 
th  •  £r/s/;<7,  and  a  divorce  and  concubinage  system  which 
is  closely  akin  to  the  freee-t  !  >ve  with  consent  necessary 
only  on  the  man's  side.  In  what  other  so-called  civili/ed 
(ountry  in  the  world  could  a  Member  of  Parliament 

'  haT'Il^e    the    whole    ('abillet     ui'.ll    keepi:)^    i  OIK  llbllH's    as 

well  as  wives,  .ind  he  answered  <.-il\  \\ith  .t  ^mui;"  smile 
of  a->ent  ?  ^'et  thi^  happ'-ned  1:1  Ma'<li.  l«H2,  in  Japan. 
K  then-  any  other  i  oimtrv  where  the  pun  ha-e  of  a  N-.nliii^ 
i^ci^hti  M»r  the  national  ecjuivalent  i  to  be  his  concubine 
by  the  j;reate-t  steamship  magnate  ot  the  land  would 
be  heralded  with  i  on^ratulat  :on>  and  interviews  and 
pi<  lure-  in  the  paper?  Yet  ihi>  01  i  urn-d  in  <  ),  tobei, 
l  <;  i  '),  ar.d  th'-  happ\  man  \\a-  ilaron  Kondo  Keinpei 
•>f  th<-  Nip-poii  \'u-'-n  Ka;-ha.  Tm--.  --oine  sh^ht  <  on 
(  e-s|ons  l:a\r  been  mad'-  to  mo  lern  ileniand-.  but  nu:i  h 
-til!  remain^  to  he  (Ion-  before  fapane  .e  u'o!ii«-n  rei  ei\'e 

th«-    (  on  -  i'  lei  at  -i  i'i    \\hnli    tli'ir    character    demands 
po  nj-iii    \>    v.'l\\<  h    th'-ir    inn-l'i'M-'n  e    and    number 

,   th'-rn.1 

"'.'        !l'l!!i!  "'!      ( 'I     II ;  11  I  !.«;'•         Ill      I'll1     \\  ,i        I  t  '''','   I     \\  !   l<  h     I  ;.>  >.'S 

N'nit  ti- Jv'iiin  t  ni.iti   in. r  i  I-      .i  vvi.l    '.v.i-i'i   I  I'M       Ki"    l.ninlv  n;»iiir  i, 
j^.V'.'     M'.i'<"'.  •'  ;n      ill'.'1--!        'M    iniiiic-.    t':,'      l.ui.'litn     </l     t!ic 


SOCIAL   CONDITIONS  v<j 

The  Japanese  pre>s  can  do  much  to  obtain  an  improve- 
nicnt  in  the  position  of  women,  and  the  passing  of  the 
many  social  and  financial  reforms  which  are  so  ne(  es- 
sary  for  the  pro.-,j>ri  ity  of  the  coi.mtry. 


fioiiM').  Tin1  nuiiil)iT  of  divoriTs  was  ^i;,|^j,  ^i;,oi<)  <if  uliicli  WCK  l>v 
mutual  coiiM'iit.  Six  pi-i  irnt.  of  tin-  di\i  nr-^  \vrii-  vvitiini  five  vr.u  •%  dl 
manure  ami  cii^lil  |  ci  ci-nt.  within  trn  yi.ns. 


CHAI'IT.K    SKVKN 
SOCIAL     CONDITIONS 

1'AKT     II 

I  UK  history  of  the  press  in  Japan  is  to  .1  L;reat  extent 
the  history  ot  demo  ra>  \  in  that  country.  Previous  to 
the  Restoration  there  we'v  news  or  hroad  sheets,  hut  it 
ua>  not  until  alter  the  M-in  Kra  had  hem  inaugurated 
that  journali-m  in  the  \V.e  tern  .-ense  ot  the  word  became 
known.  The  fir -a  daily  was  e>ta'm-hed  at  Yokohama 
in  iX~S,  and  within  lour  year--,  a  hundred  newspapers 
\\ere  l>ein;^r  published  in  Japan,  and  to-day  there  is  no 
lountry  in  the  world  which  !••  -o  well  >tij>p!ird  with  m-ws- 
paper^.  Political  journali-in  datr>  from  iSp^,  when  the 
^pht  in  tlie  <  laiis  over  the  Korean  question  led  to  the 
M -e  ol  ,i  democrat i'  part\\  and  the  ie\v  cditor>  were 
only  pro  or  ,inti--tlie  ;;o\-erninent.  1  he  jmlirji  ,il  i>aity 
eia  i-',,i\'e  a  :•. real  nnpetu-  to  uri'in^,  ami  on  the  print  iple 
that  ne\v.  is  knowledge,  a;.d  knouled^e  i>  pou«-r.  the 
pajirr-.  a<  (juii'i  d  i  on- ir  ie; ai>le  inlhi  n<  e.  'I'hen  fo]Io\\cd 
a  -hoit  period  uhen  the  printing  |»re-s  toinjit  tor  and 
a:'.ain  !  th'-  wordiipol  tdi'i;^n  idea!^,  and  in  |X.S<>  repre 

e;;'.i!i\.-  :;o\  (  i  niiiet.t  und'-r  on--  ;  .i  <•  ..r  another  hei  anie 
ill--  jtrin-  ip.il  -u)i]r(  ;  oi  conllii  ;  het\\een  tin  documaiie, 
ot  K  '.  o  '  M  In.  and  n  main  -  -o  to-dav . 

'Mie-i     are    line--    :-i:;r      ol    inn-re, i    in    tonnntion    uiih 

lh<       |  a  pa','  •    i  •    pie-     .         Ml''    I'r-t     I  -    the    <  \'r\.'     o(     r  .     Hide 
p'-nd-  n-  '-.    the     >iiond    i-    !h'-    extent    o!     i's    intlii'-ii.  c,    and 
di--    !h:r  !    Its    'a    k    ..I       eH    •   •   p,-.  Iii     i  Xo  i     Napoleon     I 

•,:p|.'re     cd     /'     Jmiffit:'    <!>        I^iiH-,     hn'     a     leu     month 
la'«  i      n    e   talili-h-'d      it     a       //      Jonnnr.     <l<      /'/  //.yv/v.     at 


SOCIAL   CONDITIONS  321 

tin-  same  time  issuing  the  following  instruction  to  the 
editor  :  "  Nothing  shall  be  published  which  can  be  con- 
sidered unfavourable  to  the  government  until  such  time 
as  the  truth  is  so  well  known  that  publication  is  un- 
necessary." 

That  is  also  the  poli<  y  of  the  Japanese  Government  in 
regard  to  the  press.  The  Foreign,  Naval,  Army,  and 
Home  Departments  have  power  to  suppress  any  newspaper 
or  any  edition  of  any  newspaper  publishing'  matter  con- 
sidered objectionable  to  the  authorities,  and  in  addition 
there  is  a  standing  prohibition  against  publishing  anything 
reflecting-  on  the  Imperial  Family  or  Ancotry.  So  much 
for  the  direct  power  of  the  authorities  over  the  press. 
Indirectly  official  influence  i.->  very  strong.  Most  of  the 
important  papers  have  some  connection  with  the  powers 
that  be.  I\okumin  Shimbiin  was  the  organ  of  the  late 
Prince  Katsura,  and  is  now  the  organ  of  Baron  Kato 
and  the  Rikken  Do-hikai.  Jiji  Shimpo,  founded  by 
Fuku/awa,  the  Sage  of  Mite,  was  the  organ  of  the  late 
Count  Hayashi,  and  draws  largely  on  Keio  for  its  initiative 
and  writers.  Chtio  Shimbun  belongs  to  Mr.  Ooka,  ex- 
President  of  the  Diet  and  leader  of  the  Seiyukwai. 
Nippon  Stiimbun  long  ago  had  a  reputation  in  financial 
matters,  and  has  behind  it  a  strong  Capitalist  group, 
headed  by  an  ex -Director  of  the  Bank  of  Japan.  A'/V///- 
A'/V///  Shimbiin  was  formerly  the  property  of  Baron  Kato, 
but  now  is  controlled  from  the  \Var  Office.  Huchi 
Shimbun  is  controlled  by  Count  Okuma.  The  largest 
paper-,  in  Japan  are  the  twin  Asahi  Shimbun,  of  Tokyo 
and  Osaka,  owne;l  by  Mr.  Murayama.  This  gentleman, 
though  no  journalist  or  writer,  has  raised  his  property 
from  an  obscure  sheet  to  a  great  journal,  and  has  done 
it  by  the  merit  of  his  energy  and  straightforward  dealing. 
He  is  the  Burnham  of  Japan.  It  will  be  clear  from  the 
above  that  all  the  leading  papers,  except  the  Asahi,  have 
behind  them  some  party  or  statesmen,  and  there  are 
many  other  papers  besides  those  I  have  mentioned  with 
which  [X)liticians  are  closely  connected. 

In    addition    to    this    personal    influence,    which    varies 

21 


322  JAl'AN    AT   THK   CROSS    ROADS 

the  imjwrtance  of  a  paper  according-  to  the  party  in 
power,  the  Government  keeps  a  close  grip  on  the  press 
by  means  of  the  I'ress  Clubs  of  the  various  departments. 
By  this  means  it  is  the  easiest  tiling  in  the  world  for 
public  opinion  to  be  directed  in  the  path  desired.  Nowhere 
is  this  more  noticeable  than  in  the  comment  on  foreign 
affair^.  I  do  not  recollect  ever  having  seen  any  news- 
paper critiei/e  the  Foreign  < )  it  ice  for  its  aggressive  policy 
towards  China,  though  1  have  seen  many  and  many 
criticisms  of  its  so-called  weakness.  This  latter  is  due 
to  the  pressure  of  the  War  Office,  which  issues  its  own 
communiques  on  China,  and  does  not  hesitate  to  appeal 
to  the  Chauvinism  of  the  nation  to  obtain  support  for 
its  own  ends.  It  must  be  remembered  that  the  Foreign 
Office  does  not  .shajx;  the  foreign  jxjlicy  of  the  country, 
but  only  conducts  it.  The  following  extract  from  a 
lecture  given  by  Mr.  Sawada,  of  the  Japanese  Kmbassy 
in  London,  fully  illustrates  this  {x>int,  that  in  foreign 
affair-,  the  Japanese  press  always  adopts  the  motto  :  "  My 
country's  gain,  ritjit  or  wrong."  He  said  :  "  In  iX<M 
all  the  papers  without  exce{)tion  appealed  for  the  justice 
of  the  Chinese  War.  The  newspapers  stirred  the  en- 
thusiasm of  the  jx-ople.  .  .  .  The  power  of  the  news- 
papers was  again  shown  in  the  case  of  the  Russo-Japanese 
War.  Perceiving  the  incvitableness  of  the  war,  all  the 
newspapers  united  in  arguing  for  submitting  the  whole 
(ontrovi-rsy  to  the  tribunal  of  the  .sword.  Thus  they 
edui  ated  public  opinion.  Hut  for  the  strong  national 
sentinn-nt  in  favour  of  war  expressed  by  the  newspapers, 
thi-  Government  i  ould  not  have  rorne  to  ^u<  h  an  audacious 
d'-.ision."  ()r  a^ain  :  'The  moment  anything  occurs 
v.hi'h  seriously  a!!e<ts  the  national  honour  and  the  vital 
interests  oi  t!)--  <ountry,  all  newspapers  unite  to  -upport 
the  m-MsUics  taken  by  tip-  Government."  Mr.  Sawada 
nimtvd  to  mention  tha1  unle-s  they  did  -o  they  would  be 
^MJ  ;  ie—  ed .  11'  also  lot.;ot  the  numerous  jireparatory 
artu  le-,  by  Mu!-:i  and  Ha\a-hi,  whi'  h  prepared  publn 
nlMM'in  for  tli«-  ('lima  \\ar,  nor  did  he  mention  Hayashi's 
pi-  ptup  ig.ind.i  m  [.ipan  ,md  iluo.id.  supported  }>'. 


SOCIAL   CONDITIONS  323 

the  writings  of  Dr.  Ariga  ami  the  other  Tokyo  professors, 
which  led  the  way  to  the  Russian  War. 

The  extent  of  the  influence  of  the  Japanese  press  is  a 
question  very  much  debated  in  that  country.  Japanese 
journalists,  when  discussing  the  matter,  adopt  a  very 
lofty  tone,  and  almost  assert  to  themselves  the.  res|X)nsi- 
bilities  of  government.  This  may  or  may  not  he  due 
to  a  nice  professional  conceit.  The  rapid  progress  of 
journalism  in  Japan  was  undoubtedly  due  to  the  pre- 
eminence of  the  men  with  whom  it  was  associated.  They 
wrote  not  only  to  make  money  or  to  advance  themselves, 
but  to  propagate  the  ideas,  political  or  social,  in  which 
they  believed.  The  names  of  Kuku/awa,  Fukuchi,  O/.aki, 
Shimada,  Tokutomi,  Matsuda,  and  Mutsu  are  definitely 
associated  with  certain  jx)litical  principles,  and  will  remain 
so  associated  long"  after  their  connection  with  journalism 
has  been  forgotten.  The  early  Japanese  press,  like  the 
early  political  parties,  drew  its  inspiration  and  owed  its 
popularity  to  personal  influence.  The  present  Japanese 
press  owes  its  popularity  entirely  to  the  ability  with  which 
the  circulation  department  is  managed.  It  has  been 
unfortunate  that  the  history  of  the  Japanese  press  has  been 
so  modern  that  it  has  no  tradition,  and  owes  most  of  its 
teaching  to  American  methods,  and  these  by  no  means 
of  the  best  standard  in  America. 

1  should  say  that  the  Japanese  press  cannot  create  a 
cause,  but  it  can  lend  very  jxnverlul  support  to  a  move- 
ment, and  it  is  to  its  credit  that  during  recent  years  it 
has  been  able  to  focus  public  attention  on  certain  matters, 
and  has  succeeded  in  getting  improvements  inaugurated. 
Even  so,  it  must  regretfully  be  admitted  that  such  action 
has  only  too  often  been  due  to  selfish,  rather  than  public, 
motives. 

The  worst  feature  of  the  press,  and  there  is  no  paper 
which  can  be  excluded  from  the  criticism,  is  its  lack 
of  self-respect.  A  Japanese  editor  has  absolutely  no 
idea  of  fairmindedness,  no  idea  of  courtesy,  no  idea  of 
decency,  and  but  little  idea  of  truth.  The  present  Minister 
of  Justice,  Mr.  O/aki.  in  a  criticism  of  the  press,  ascribed 


324  JAPAN    AT   THK   CROSS    ROADS 

four  major  faults  to  the  fourth  estate— obscenity,  untruth, 
partiality,  and  scandal,  and  his  opinion  is  amply  confirmed 
by  other  men  of  position  and  by  a  study  of  the  columns 
of  the  daily  pros. 

The  '  3rd'  pa;_,re  is  an  institution  with  Japanese.  On 
it  are  published  the  nio-t  libellous,  pornographic,  ami 
-eandaloiis  statements  \sith  regard  to  persons  in  all  grades 
c»f  society,  and  without  the  slightest  regard  lor  decenc\ 
and  truth.  The  law  ot  libel  is  so  vai;ue  that  it  is  almost 
imjx)ssible  to  take  action,  and  it  is  now  customary  not 
to  sue  on  anything  appearing  on  that  pai;e.  Yet  every 
\ear  many  and  many  a  life  is  ruined,  and  innumerable 
sui<  ides  are  caused  by  the  filthy  innuendo  appearing 
there.  Charles  Hrooktield's  words  apply  with  more  force 
to  the  journalists  ot  Tok\o  than  to  those  of  any  other 
country  :  "liod.  who  in  Ili>  infinite  mercy  has  deprived 
the  ne;sTo  of  his  .scii-e  of  siiidl,  appears  alx>  to  have 
deprived  the  journali-t  of  his  sense  of  decency." 

There  is  a  -troni^  foreign  pre-s  in  Japan.  The  Japan 
Mdil,  founded  by  the  late  Captain  Hrinkley,  was  toi 
niaiiv  years  the  leading  foreign  or.;an,  and  in  spite  of 
its  Japanophile  proclivities,  \sas  for  \-ery  many  years 
.1  «l'-h^ht  to  the  reader,  not  o:il\  tor  the  a^i!il\  ot  it-. 
ar^i:m'-nt  and  the  wid'-  kim\v]<-du,re  ot  its  contributors, 

elegance  ot  its  laii^ua^'e.  SUM  e 
seini-oiticial  syiidii  ate  it  has  In^t 
ino-f  ot  its  intlueiii  ••.  \\hilst  its  n-'\\-  proprietors  disp!a\ 
a  pi'  a-iii;',  di-K-^aid  ot  the  |-ji;.;lish  l.tii^ua;.;e  and 
mantlet  x . 

I  In  Justin  A'/\-t  ff.'--i  r  i-  run  on  rather  Ani'-riian  lines, 
i!  •  nwnej  l)i-in.;  ol  lii.it  uat  K»':a  In  \\  and  ina\  be  considered 
t'»  iijM.-.rnt  the  Ann  n  an  p''ii.!  ot  \ie\\-.  I  h<-  Japan 
<ia::<ti<  :  a  I.'it;  h  ot;;.in.  published  in  Yokohama,  and 
npre-rnts  the  iiit-ret  .  i-t  (o:it.'.ri  I'linmerce.  I  hi'  Jtif'iin 
lltrii'i!  w.i-,  a  (  lei  niali -< -uned  IO-MIM!.  \'.  hi  h  \\.i-  <  losed 
down  atiei  the  fiutbreak  ot  war.  A-  ail  ( ii-nnaii  papei> 
in  :he  l.i-  I.i  ',  it  \\  i  i  I.iM-h  i;i  to-i'  h  \\ith  (letin.in 
otri  laldoin,  .Cr  i  ,i  ;  H  a!  liUmb-  I  "I  j;  ,  .nil'  le  \\  <  re  \\  ntleii 
die  <  ,(  i:n.ci  I .:  at  1  ok  ,0.  \\'ii  n  the  Ut  nil  I 


SOCIAL   CONDITIONS  325 

was  suppressed  in  1914,  The  Japan  Mail  distinguished 
itself  by  likening  its  writings  to  tin-  '  shrill  shrinking* 
of  a  wayside  ->lut,'  but  even  il  true,  the  Herald  could 
not  be  charged  with  leading  a  life  of  prostitution.  I  In 
Japan  Chronicle  of  Kobe  is  ,i  strong  and  shrewd  (  run 
of  things  Japanese,  and  has  again  and  again  done  good 
service  to  foreign  interests  by  it^  reasoned  argument-, 
on  political  and  coinnierci.il  matters.  At  tunes  it  appears 
to  the  reader  to  devote  too  much  space  to  "  rubbing 
in,"  but  it  lias  the  excuse  that  Japan  is  peculiarly  a  country 
where  taisscz-fuirc  is  omnipotent. 

There  is  no  department  of  public  administration  in 
Japan  which  gives  rise  to  greater  discontent  amongst 
the  people  as  a  whole  than  that  of  justice. 

It  is  at  least  some  consolation  that  there  is  a  very 
strong  feeling  on  the  matter,  and  that  strenuous  efforts 
are  being  made  not  only  by  politicians  but  by  the 
numerous  Har  Associations  and  by  the  more  enlightened 
amongst  the  occupants  of  the  bench  for  a  radical  reform 
of  the  codes  and  for  a  more  liberal  and  humane  adminis- 
tration of  the  criminal  procedure.1 

That  a  nation  gets  the  government  it  deserves  is 
certainly  untrue  of  Japan  in  this  matter.  The  Japanese 
are  by  no  manner  of  means  a  race  endowed  with  criminal 
propensities.  If  the  statistics  of  criminal  administration 
show-  a  percentage  which  appears  to  contradict  this  view, 
il  is  largely  due  to  the  creation  of  crimes  to  suit  the 
code  rather  than  the  adaptation  of  a  code  to  tit  the 
crimes.  In  a  country  where  it  is  the  tradition  of  ages 
past  that  thcv  end  justifies  the  means,  it  is  manifestly 
absurd  to  catalogue  fraud  and  false  swearing  as  high 
crimes  and  misdemeanours.  Amongst  a  race  where  hari- 
kiri  is  a  recogiii/edly  proper  method  of  terminating  the 
weariness  of  existence,  to  ordain  a  penalty  for  unsuccessful 
suicide  is  either  a  rcdndio  ad  absurd  am  or  an  oversight 
on  the  part  of  the  lawgivers.  If  it  is  murder  to  slab 
another  person  to  death,  even  in  a  country  where  the 
educational  authorities  eulogi/e  assassination  for  ;>  liti^d 

1  Cl.  '"r'tifiin  Weekly  Gtizclli',  February  27,  11)14. 


326  JAPAN    AT   THE   CROSS    ROADS 

jxirposes,  why  is  it  highly  praiseworthy  to  tic  yourself 
to  him  or  her  with  a  scarf  and  then  to  push  the  composite 
bundle  over  a  cliff.  If  it  is  a  felony  of  the  gravest 
for  an  Admiral  to  receive  £40,000  for  forwarding  the 
order  for  a  battler-hip,  why  is  it  no  crime  at  all  for  a 
hou-eboy  to  receive  5  JKT  cent,  on  all  orders  emanating 
from  the  house.  It  is  a  misdemeanour  for  a  contractor 
to  give  a  cheque  for  ¥500  to  an  official,  but  if  the 
money  is  converted  into  an  ohjct  d'art,  and  given  at 
New  Year  or  the  hon,  it  is  legitimate.  It  is  highly 
improper  for  a  newspaper  correspondent  to  offer  a  couple 
of  shillings  to  the  staff  of  the  local  telegraph  office, 
and  he  is  liable  to  punishment.  If,  however,  he  places 
the  money  in  an  envelope  covering  a  letter  to  the  chief 
of  the  local  telegraph  office,  asking  that  The  money  be 
expended  on  tobacco  or  cakes,  it  may  be  accepted  grate- 
fully, and  his  messages  will  be  exjwdited.  A  burglar, 
in  Japanese  law,  is  one  who  enters  a  house  by  violence, 
but  if  he  enter  with  the  aid  of  a  ron/rirc  within  the 
house,  and  is  caught  before  he  has  left  the  house,  then 
no  charge  can  be  made  against  him.  A  prostitute  who 
<arrie,>  on  Ir-r  bu-inr^s  out-idi-  of  the  yoshiwara  is  liable 
to  heavy  pcnaltie-,.  A  gci^hu  who  secretly  prostitutes 
herself  i-,  liable  to  no  jx-nalty  whatsoever. 

Kijually  pu//lin.g  as  the  definitions  of  crime  are  the 
ruli--,  of  procedure  and  evidence,  whilst  most  appalling 
of  all  are  the  sentences  \vhnh  may  be  inflicted.  Before, 
however,  di -Missing  tin -M-  points  it  will  be  well  to  ^ive 
an  outlini-  of  the  judicial  system. 

Previous  to  iS~4  the  Police  Hureau.  which  controls 
jxilif  e  affairs  throughout  the  country,  was  attached  to  the 
(udi<  ial  I  >epartni'-in  .  In  that  yar  the  Bureau  was  trans- 
ferred to  tip'  Hume  Department,  and  has  formed  since 
then  probablv  t!i«-  mo-t  important  administrative  section 
(if  that  d'-partnvnt . 

'Ill--  ('hi-t  of  \'"\i<  ••  P.meau  is  n--|>on-ib!e,  under  the 
Home  Mini  ter,  for  th--  administration  of  police  affairs 
throughout  t!i"  Krnpir-.  l.\>  <]>i  in  Tokyo,  the  p«)lice 
affair.  .u<-  man.ii'fd  by  th«-  ()o\ernor  of  ea>  h  prefecture. 


SOCIAL   CONDITIONS  327 

In  Tokyo  they  arc  confided  to  a  sj>ccial  Metropolitan 
Police  Office. 

The  duties  of  the  jx)licc  are  to  care-  for  the  public 
welfare,  not  only  as  against  evildoers,  hut  also  as  against 
fire,  sickness,  and  immorality. 

There  are  two  capital  hindrances  to  the  satisfactory 
working  of  the  Japanese  polite  system.  The  first  is 
that  by  its  association  with  the  Home  Office,  it  ha.-,  been 
reduced  largely  to  a  political  weapon.  Not  only  do 
the  governors  change-  with  each  cabinet,  but  a  No  the 
Chief  of  the  Police.  Bureau,  the  Chief  of  the  Metropolitan 
Police,  and  the  local  Chiefs  of  Police.  Their  offices 
arc  rewards  for  j>olitical  service,  and  an  advantageous 
step  towards  future  advancement.  This  is  typical  in 
the  career  of  Viscount  Oura,  the  present  Home  Minister, 
who  commenced  as  a  policeman,  and  gradually  rose  to 
cabinet  rank  as  Home  Minister,  by  a  due  subservience 
to  his  political  leaders  in  ///,  ken,  and  State.  It  was 
during  the  third  and  last  Katsura  Ministry,  when  Oura 
was  Home  Minister,  that  the  most  enlightening  example 
was  given  of  how  not  to  use  police.  When  the  popular 
agitation  against  Katsura  was  at  its  highest,  reserves 
were  drafted  in  from  the  country  :  furious  attempts  were 
made  to  intimidate  the  opposition  M.P.'s,  and  when  these 
failed,  police  and  gendarmerie  were  launched  with  drawn 
sabres  on  the  crowds  peacefully  gathered  in  the  streets 
to  applaud  the  Seiyukwai  members  on  their  way  to  Parlia- 
ment. It  must  be  some  satisfaction  to  Oura  to  remember 
that  his  rival  Home  Minister,  Hara,  adopted  a  precisely 
similar  policy  in  analogous  circumstances  in  the  following 
year,  and  with  equally  disastrous  results. 

In  the  provinces  the  police  are  often  the  arbiters  of 
elections.  If  tin-  governor  is  Seiyukwai.  it  H  a  fore- 
gone conclusion  that  Seiyukwai  will  jx>ll  the  majority. 
In  cases  where  the  majority  has  appeared  to  be  going 
against  the  governor's  party  the  police  have  time  and 
again  been  ordered  to  prevent  opposition  voters  from 
approaching  the  polling  booths. 

Indeed,   so    long   as   the   local   administration    is   on   a 


328  JAPAN    AT    THK    CROSS    ROADS 

political  footing,  the  l)allot  will  be  a  farce.  Only  when 
governors  and  administrative  officials  are  appointed  for 
a  term  of  years  and  the  franchise  widely  extended  will 
elections  he  free  from  coercion  and  hrihery.  It  stands 
to  reason  that,  if  a  governor  and  chief  of  police  are 
liahle  to  go  out  of  o;ti  :e  it  th--  election  L;oes  against 
the  party  which  nominated  them,  they  will  do  ever\  tiling 
humanly  jx)»ible  to  secure  the  success  of  their  patrons. 

The  second  objection  to  the  [apane-e  police  system  i-> 
one  which  jx'rmcates  the  whole  judicial  system  on  its 
criminal  >ide.  The  jx>lice  have  the  power  not  only  of 
arrest,  but  also  of  detention  and  punishment. 

The  fX)lice  system  is  not  ba^ed  on  laws  submitted  to 
Parliament.  It  re-ts  on  Imperial  Ordinances  issued  in 
accordance  with  Art.  <;  of  the  ( 'oiistitution,  \\hereby  the 
jxtlice.  may  arrest  persons  and  sei/e  property,  detaining 
the  former  up  to  thirty-six  hours,  and  the  latter  up  to 
thirty  days.  They  may  al>o  impo-c  line>  not  exceeding 
N"-5  at  a  time,  plus  any  expenses  im  urred.  They  ha\e, 
in  addition,  unlimited  control  over  public  meeting, 
associations,  and  societies  ;  over  the-  publication  <>l  all 
newspapers,  pamphlets,  and  books  ;  over  all  questions 
an>iiiL,r  between  employers  and  employed,  in  addition  to 
all  sanitary  questions,  including  the  »al-'  and  pre-<  Tiption 
of  all  materia  rnedii  a  aJid  drug's.  (It  may  be  noted  that 
the  Police  Handbook  i-  over  two  inche^  thick.) 

1 1  i>  obviou>  that  the  e\t«  ii  -i\ c  s«  ope  of  |».  iln  e  authority, 
(otiplcd  to  the  pohti'  al  ba-i-  of  th'-  u'holr  -\stcin.  make- 
it  a  very  jxnverful  wea{>on  in  the  hand-  ol  an  t:n--i  mpulou- 
-tate-man.  N-»  one  who  ha>  wati  hed  the  p<  >lu  email 
stalking  throu;.;h  a  country  \i!!a:;e  and  notiied  the 
^rovellin^-i  and  bouini^s  of  the  i  ommon  people  tan  doubl 
the  awe-«>ine  terror  in  \\-hi  li  h|-  i>  h'-'d. 

In    addition    to    tin-    regular    poli 
town  a  ton  e  of  p-ndarmei  ie,  a'ta-  h'- 
fones.         1  h--  e    aid     and 
wh'-n    ne<  e   >ary,    and    in    li 

).'•<  oiii'-    th'-Hi    ehe-,     th"    J-ril 

:  i;pp!<  III'  Iit"d    b\     the     I  loiii>      Oll 


SOCIAL    CONDITIONS  .529 

Tin-  criminal  la\v  is  administered  according  to  a  uniform 
code,  with  regulation-,  promulgated  by  Imperial  Ordi- 
nance, dealing  with  Court  procedure,  the  rule-,  of  evideix  c, 
hail,  and  court  lees. 

A  criminal  pursuit  can  he  initiated  hy  either  a  private 
person  or  the  jmhlif  authorities,  hut  in  hoth  cases  it 
passes  through  the  hands  of  a  Publn  Procurator.  Th'- 
procuratorial  system,  as  conducted  in  Japan,  is  the  most 
striking  survival  ol  the  Inquisition.  It  i-.  the  mm- 
-^trained  ahuse  of  the  rights  and  privileges  ol  the  Pro- 
curator  which  is  at  the  hottom  ol  the  present  wide  agitation 
1'or  a  reform  en  I'loc  of  the  judii  ial  system,  and  lor  the 
introduction  of  trial  hy  jury.  The  procuratorial  system 
an  Jupoiuiis  is  the  exemplification  of  tlie  annihilation  of 
personal  rights. 

In  theory  the  Public  Procurator  is  merely  a  prosecuting 
attorney,  counsel  for  the  Treasury.  In  practice  he  is 
investigator,  prosecutor,  and  jud^e. 

In  (he  ease  of  an  inquiry  hein^'  opened  into  an  atfair, 
the  Procurator  instructs  the  police  to  make  preliminary 
inquiries.  On  their  rc^irls  he  decides  on  such  further 
steps  as  he  considers  desirable.  This  i^eiierally  takes 
the  form  of  summoning'  persons  concerned  before  him. 
lie  has  no  ri^ht  whatsoever  to  order  a  person  to  be 
arrested  and  brought  before  him,  nor  ha\i-  the  police 
any  rii^'ht  to  arrest  any  person,  unless  caught  fla^rtinlc 
dclicto,  or  unless  they  are  provided  with  a  warrant  from 
an  KxaminiiiL;'  .Ma;^i-trate.  \r\crthelos,  in  at  lea-t  ;o 
per  cent,  of  the  criminal  cases  in  Japan  the  Procurator 
takes  the  aho\'e  steps. 

<  )n  the  arri\'al  of  (\\c  suspect  he  is  examined.  That 
is  to  say.  the  Procurator  asks  him  questions,  and  in  tip- 
event  of  the  suspect  beinj^  accjuainied  \vit!i  law,  and 
refusing  to  ans\\-er.  lie  bullies  and  threatens  hmi,  ntten 
usini;'  alnir-ive  lan^ua^e.  and  compul-orily  iletamin^  him 
without  footl  or  tlrink.  Be  it  noted  that  lv  has  no  le-'al 
ri;j,"lu  whatsoever  to  do  so.  If  the  Procurator  considers 
he  has  or  can  make  a  case,  he  sends  the  suspected  person 
before  an  Exajninintr  Magistrate,  who  iormailv  orders 


330  JAPAN    AT   THK    CROSS    ROADS 

his  arrest.  The  Examining  Magistrate  can  commit  an 
accused  person  to  prison,  and  can  keep  him  there  for 
any  period  he  likes  on  the  sole  condition  that  he  examines 
him  once  in  ten  days.  The  examination  often  consists  of  a 
single  question  and  answer,  which  in  the  case  of  a  prison 
of  social  position,  is  frequently  an  inquiry  after  his  health. 

During  this  preliminary  trial  the  accused  is  refused 
access  to  his  papers  and  hooks  ;  he  is  not  allowed 
communication  with  his  lawyers,  and  often  not  with  his 
friends  ;  he  is  not  allowed  to  call  witnesses  nor  to  ask 
to  be  confronted  with  witnesses.  He  is  liable  to  be 
examined  for  any  length  of  time  by  the  judge  without 
intervals  for  sleep,  or  for  food  or  drink,  or  contrari- 
wise never  to  be  examined  at  all. 

In  addition  to  what  is  allowed,  it  is  common  for  tin- 
judges  to  threaten,  coerce,  bribe,  and  otherwise  attempt 
to  influence  accused  person's  statements.  A  practice 
strictly  against  the  law,  but  much  in  vogue,  is  to  [x-nnit 
the  Procurator  to  be-  present  at  examination  by  the  Judge, 
and  even  to  examine  accused  persons  himself.  Physical 
torture  is  no  longer  legal,  but  constantly  occurs,  whilst 
mixed  mental  and  physical  torture  is  of  e\eryday  occur- 
rence. I 'ndoubtedly  Japanophiles  and  the  members  of 
the  Japan  Societies  over  the  world  will  turn  up  their 
eyes  and  exclaim,  "  What  a  bar  this  nun  is  !  "  The 
evidence  of  the  infliction  of  torture  is  too  overwhelming 
to  be  even  disputed,  not  only  in  Korea  and  Formosa  but 
in  Japan  itself. 

The  most  famous,  because  the  most  widely  known, 
case  was  the  Korean  conspiracy  case,  which  dragged  its 
course  from  1910  to  io.iv  A  number  of  Korean  <  hits 
turns,  headed  by  Baron  Yun--chi-ho,  were  arrested  and 
charged  with  a  conspiracy  to  assassinate  Count  Terau«  hi. 
Ciovcrnor-Cicneral  of  Korea.  One  hundred  and  nine  out 
of  one  hundred  and  twenty -seven  were  <  onvti  ted  .UK! 
sentenced  to  a  total  of  -ev«-ral  hundred  years'  imprison 
inent .  Now  the  ni'-re  <  onvii  (ion  of  a  few  stores  of 
native,  was  not  sensational,  but  in  tin-  t  ourse  of  the  trial 
allegations  were  made  against  American  and  British 


SOCIAL   CONDITIONS  331 

missionaries  of  having  incited  the  plot.  The  authorities 
refused  to  charge  the  missionaries,  who  were  thus  unable 
to  refute  the  allegations  in  open  court.  WJien  the  defence 
opened,  allegations  wen-  made  that  the  prisoners  had 
been  cruelly  ill-treated,  and  that  the  confession*,  unctuously 
displayed  by  the  Procurators  had  Ix-en  extracted  by 
torture.  Never  was  am  thing  truer.  It  turned  out  that 
the  miserable  Christians  had  been  liendishly  tortured  for 
days  and  weeks  by  the  Japanese  gendarmerie  and  police. 
Renter's  messages  to  London  'bluntly  conveyed  this  infor- 
mation, and  the  British  Government,  to  its  credit, 
telegraphed  to  the  Ambassador  at  Tokyo  for  a  report 
of  the  trial,  and  the  Consul -General  at  Seoul  furnished 
the  same.  The  concluding  sentence  of  that  report  was  : 
'  The  whole  trial  was  a  travesty  of  Justice."  A  copy 
ot  this  report  was  unofficially  conveyed  by  the  Ambas- 
sador to  Viscount  Uchida.  the-  Foreign  Minister,  with  an 
intimation  that  Great  Britain,  in  consenting  to  the  annexa- 
tion of  Korea,  had  received  an  assurance  from  the 
Japanese  Government  that  Koreans  would  be  fairly 
treated,  and  unless  this  assurance  was  carried  out  at 
the  trial  in  Appeal,  something  very  unpleasant  was  going 
to  happen.  The  result  was  that  all  except  six  were 
acquitted,  and  these  six  had  their  sentences  much  reduced. 
The  Supreme  Court  reversed  the  latter  part  of  this  judg- 
ment, and  sent  the  case  of  the  six  for  re-trial.  The 
Lower  Court,  however,  re-imposed  the  sentences,  and  a 
further  appeal  to  the  Supreme  Court  failed. 

This  case  attained  considerable  notoriety,  firstly  on 
account  of  the  attitude  of  the  Japanese  authorities  towards 
Christians,  which  was  a  matter  of  deep  interest  to  religious 
bodies  throughout  the  world,  and  secondly  because  of 
a  very  pretty  quarrel  as  to  (he  manner  in  which  the  case 
was  reported  in  the  American  press.  It  even  became 
an  argument  in  the'  abortive  petition  of  the  Sun  newspaper 
for  the  dissolution  of  the  Associated  Press  under  the 
Sherman  Law. 

Another  case  of  absorbing'  interest  was  the  Kotoku 
High  Treason  Case  in  1908.  It  was  alleged  that  Kotoku 


332  JAPAN    AT   THK   CROSS    ROADS 

and  his  associates  had  formed  a  plot  to  murder  the 
Kmpt-ror.  They  were  arrested,  tried  in  secret  before 
a  Sjnvial  Commission,  and  executed.  It  is  highly  doubt- 
ful  whether  there  e\-er  was  a  plot  against  the  lite  of 
the  Kmperor.  Then-  was  undoubtedly  a  plot,  hut  it 
was  directed  against  the  late  Prince  Katsura.  It  ua> 
at  a  time  when  there  was  a  j^reat  deal  of  di-t  (intent . 
Katsiira,  whilst  a  statesman  of  the  greatest  ability,  had 
an  overweening  belief  in  his  own  capacity.  A  public 
trial  would  certainly  have  evoked  a  popular  movement 
a^aiiM  him,  and  of  sympathy  for  the  accused,  the  more 
so  as  the  assassination  of  an  unpopular  statesman  is 
justified  by  many  precedents  in  Japan.  A  charge  of 
hi^h  treason  was  therefore  framed  up.  and  a  speedy 
and  satisf.irtory  end  achieved  by  a  commission  of  com- 
placent judges  and  the  executioner's  sword.  One  of  the 
I  rison  officials  told  m*-  that  the  only  evidence  of  hi^h 
treason  was  a  very  loosely-worded  letter  and  a  <on- 
tession,  the  latter  beiriL,r  obtained  by  corporal  punishment. 

Other  notable  cases  ot  the  recent  application  of  torture 
an-  th"  I-'onno-an  con-piraei-s  of  i  ^  i  }  and  i>;'4-  \\here 
the  treatment  of  the  prisoners  was  so  revolting!)  cruel 
that  the  Tokyo  Barristers'  Association  sent  over  a  special 
rommi--ion.  headed  1)\  Mr.  M.i-u]iina,  Lawyer  to  th" 
Briti-h  I-jn!)a-sv  at  Tokyo,  and  a  Harri-ier  of  the  Inner 
'I  emple.  and  of  the  New  York  State  liar  at  Albam.  to 
in<|uiri-  into  thf  allegation-.  The  re|iort  of  the  (  ommission 
full\-  (onlirmed  th<-  truth  of  ih<-  .ille^ation-.  Anio'i-si 
it>  pa-sa-M-s  the  lollouin;  may  be  quoted  :  "  l-'our  un 
fortuiiat'-  per  on-  ha\'e  already  been  tortured  to  deaih, 
and  i  i.'li!  or  rnn»-  out  of  every  ten  arre-i'-d  have  been 
toMur<-d  dunn;,r  inij>n  -onnient . 

A  \\ell  j-ro\en  i  a-e  of  tojture  of  an  old  \\oman  at 
I  f  onirni'.a.  in  i't\~.  re-nhed  in  a  t'eiieial  --ttil.e  of  th«- 
bar  of  that  <  ourt  unril  tlr-  procurators  and  examining 
judi'e  .  '  ( >in  erne*  1  had  been  i  cni'  ivei  1 . 

II.ii'i!\-    a    <la-.     !>i     e,    m     |. HI. m    \\i;hoi:t    a    revelation 


man,   Nakaj'ina  Ma  -aki'  hi.  u  a  >  •  om  i<  ted  in  Ma\  ,    I  *>  \  \. 


SOCIAL   CONDITIONS  333 

and  sentence  1  to  live  years'  imprisonment  for  burglary 
on  the  evidence  oi  hi-,  wife,  taken  in  secret  in  preliminary 
examination.  Subsequently  in  May,  1914,  anotlu-r  nun 
was  arrested  for  quite  a  different  crime,  ;md  confessed 
spontaneously  to  the  burglary.  Inquiry  was  then  made 
as  to  the  wife's  alleged  evidence.  It  w.is  proved  that 
she  had  steadfastly  denied  her  husband's  K11'^-  1  he 
Procurator  had  arrested  her,  had  her  detained  in  tin- 
police  cells  below  the  court.  These  cells,  which  consist 
ot  three  brick  wall-;  with  iron  bars,  like  a  c.i-e,  across 
the  front,  open  on  to  a  public  corridor.  Here  the  poor 
woman  had  been  stripped  stark-naked,  although  she  was 
enceinte,  and  locked  up,  to  be  ^a/ed  and  jeered  at  by 
ever\  passer-by.  Alter  three  days  she  had  coniosed  that 
her  husband  mii;ht  have  committed  the  burglary. 

After  tin-  real  culprit  had  been  convicted,  her  husband 
was  tried  a^ain  in  the  Court  of  Appeal  and  acquitted 
for  lack  of  evidence. 

Nobody  in  Japan  is  ever  properly  acquitted.  The 
view  of  the  courts  is  that  procurator  and  jud^e  alike 
are  public  officials.  If  an  accused  person  is  declared 
not  g'tiilty,  then  it  is  obvious  that  somebody,  Procurator 
or  Jud;^e,  or  both,  has  blundered.  As  a  person  \vho  is 
a  public  official  ip^o  facto  cannot  blunder,  therefore,  the 
prisoner  must  be  guilty,  even  if  there  is  not  siifticieni 
evidence  to  sentence  him.  Thus  is  the  '  face  '  ot  the 
Procurator  and  ICxamining  Judi^e  saved. 

In  June,  I  gi  },  Shima  Sadiji.  ai;ed  eighteen,  wa- 
arrested  and  charged  with  ar-on  at  Xa^ova.  I  nder 
pressure  from  the  police  he  confessed,  and  \\as  -enteiucd 
to  live  years'  penal  servitude.  In  < 'c.obcr  \o,u<>  Shimpei 
was  arrested  at  Shid/.uoka  tor  arson,  and  eviilence  wa> 
found  on  him  that  he  wa-  guilty  ot  the  Na^oya  and  other 
cases.  In  January,  I'M  4.  lie  was  sentenced  to  penal 
servitude  for  life.  It  was  not  until  May,  1^14,  that  a 
retrial  of  Shima  Sadiji  was  ordered,  when  the  previous 
judgment  was  quashed  lor  lack  ot  evidence. 

In  February,  1014.  three  men  were  charged  with  rape 
and  robbery  at  Shid/uoka.  Tortured  under  preliminary 


334  JAPAN    AT   THE   CROSS    ROADS 

examination,  they  were  sent  for  trial.  Before  the  public 
hearing  was  o|*-ned  the  real  culprits  were  identified  and 
arrested.  The  case  of  the  three  men  first  arrested  was 
adjourned  sine  die. 

In  1906  two  men  were  executed  in  connection  with 
a  murder  at  Gumba.  On  January  23,  1913,  the  real 
murderers  were  arrested,  and  it  was  shown  that  the  two 
dead  men  had  been  convicted  on  confessions  extracted 
under  pressure. 

I)r.  Kgi,  who,  with  Dr.  Hanai,  leads  the  Tokyo  Bar, 
wrote  in  The  Japan  Times  :  "In  rny  exjx-rience  I  find 
that  in  five  cases  out  of  ten  innocent  |K-rsons  are  con- 
demned, in  one  case  the  real  culprit  is  acquitted,  and  in 
the  remaining1  lour  cases  the  culprits  are  punished,  but 
for  accidental  reasons." 

A  letter  before  me  from  another  leading  Tokyo 
barrister  says  :  "  Condemnation  in  a  Japanese  Court  by 
no  means  indicates  the  giiilt  of  the  accused." 

These  cases  of  torture,  which  I  have  given,  are  not 
one  hundredth  part  of  the  cases  reported.  Men  and 
women  are  beaten,  starved,  their  limbs  twisted,  con- 
strained, and  even  burned  as  sacrifices  to  procuratori.il 
ambition.  In  a  recent  <  a>e  reported  in  Japan  a  woman 
was  so  beaten  as  to  have  her  lace  swollen  Ixjyoiul  recog- 
nition. 

The  record  of  th-1  preliminary  examination  is  no', 
according  to  the  rulings  ot  the  Courts  of  Appeal,  of  any 
judi«  i.il  value  whatsoever,  whilst  the  preliminary  judg- 
ment lias  b«-«-n  des<  rilxnl  in  a  ruling  of  the  Court  ol 
Cassation  as  "merely  the  expression  of  the  examining 
judge's  opinion." 

'1  hat    these    rulings   should    be    i>    highly   correct.      The 
re>  ord    in     innumerable    cases    consists    of    extorted    ton 
fe-sions   and    evidence   obtained    by    the    Procurator'*    and 
Judge's  bull)  ing   and   threats.      llou    often,   in  a    Japanese 
<  ourt,    do    \  on    no!    hear    th--    following    dialogue  : 

I'rt'^id-n^    Jud^i'     i  to    a«<u-«-il    .       In    \o-.ir    |>rrlimin.ii  v 

ex.lllllli.tt  1<  ill     \oll     s.uil     su    .ill'l     so 

Accused.       \  <  I     li.nl    been    -.o    in.iiu     uick-    under 


SOCIAL   CONDITIONS  335 

arrest,  and  the  Judge  said  that  if  I  said  so  I  would  be 
set  free. 

It  has  boon  repeatedly  proved  that  Procurators  and 
Examining  Judges,  if  they  cannot  get  a  witness  to  give 
evidence  of  the  kind  they  require,  fabricate  the  evidence 
themselves  and  put  it  on  the  record,  and  it  has  also  been 
proved  that,  when  evidence  favourable  to  the  prisoner 
is  given  it  is  suppressed  from  the  record. 

It  will  be  argued  that  even  if  these  tilings  occur  at 
preliminary  examination,  they  can  be  rectified  at  public- 
trial.  They  cannot.  The  Procurator  in  charge  of  a 
case  dominates  the  whole  proceedings.  He  sits  with 
the  judges:  he  takes  part  in  their  consultations:  he 
can  oppose  any  application  for  witnesses,  and  he  can 
and  does  request  the  court  to  cut  short  the  arguments  of 
counsel.  Judges  in  the  District  Courts  are  completely 
under  the  control  of  the  Procurator,  because  on  the  Pro- 
curator-General depend  the  alternatives,  promotion  or 
transfer,  to  some  distant  and  unimportant  district. 

In  the  Session  of  the  Diet  last  spring  a  petition  was 
presented  by  the  Rikkcn  Doshikai,  embodying  ninety- 
four  common  abuses  of  the  judicial  system,  and  pointing 
out  the  steps  by  which  the  procuratorial  body  has  obtained 
a  complete  ascendancy  over  the  judicial  body,  making 
the  latter  dependent  on  the  former  tor  promotion  or 
office. 

It  is  hardly  necessary  to  state  that  the  rules  of  evidence 
obtain  as  little  respect  from  a  Japanese  Court  as  the 
rules  of  procedure. 

During  last  year  Dr.  Oba,  a  judge  of  the  Criminal 
Court  of  Cassation,  resigned  his  high  office  for  the  purpose 
of  leading  a  campaign  for  the  better  administration  of 
the  Criminal  Law.  In  a  lecture  before  the  Society  for 
the  Study  of  Criminal  Administration,  he  said  :  "  The 
present  code  is  a  national  disgrace.  There  is  no  pro- 
tection of  personal  rights  against  official  authority,  which 
is  too  often  guilty  of  unwarrantable  abuse."  He  drew 
attention  to  the  fact  that  the  code  was  drafted  during 
a  summer  holidav.  and  was  never  submitted  to  the  scrutiny 


336  JAPAN    AT   THK   CROSS    ROADS 

of  the  Diet.  He  remarked  on  the  premium  it  placed 
on  crime  by  the  fall  in  the  value  of  life,  and  the  wide 
discretion  left  to  judges  in  the  matter  of  sentences.  "  The 
life  ot  a  man,"  said  Dr.  (  >!>a.  "  is  now  of  less  value  than 
the  life  ot  a  do:;  fifty  years  a^o.  Attempts  at  murder 
cannot  be  punished  at  all,  whilst  crimes  of  personal 
\iolence  tluctiiate  be'.v.eell  a  police  line  and  ten  years' 
penal  senitude."  For  libel  and  for  unlautu!  arrest  there 
i>  no  punishment,  but  for  fraud  or  roblvry  sentence  ma\ 
ran:;e  from  a  nioirh  to  tuenty  year-'  imprisonment.  lor 
stealing  a  furo^hik:  <a  cotton  handkerchief  i  one  man 
yoi  twelve  years,  and  another  eighteen  years  for  stealing; 
live  toul-,  whilst  thirteen  vear>  \\a>  the  price  ot  a  tobacco 
pouch  ;  but  for  fori;inL,  documents  and  embex/ling  a  million 
yen  the  din-dor-;  of  a  bank  ;^'et  oil'  with  a  nominal 
sentence,  with  >usjH.'nsioii  ot  execution.  A  pickj)ocket 
get-,  about  the  same  as  a  sand-baiter  or  highwayman. 

Dr.  Yokota.  1're-ident  ot  the  ('otirt  ot  C.'assation.  and 
ilie  highest  iiulicial  lunctionary  in  the  land  is  no  less 
•  ondernna'.oiA  than  Dr.  <>ba.  He  said  :  'The  manner 
in  uhich  criminal  investigations  ,ire  conducted  are  a  posi- 
ti\e  blot  on  the  name  ot  the-  <ountry.  1  he  annihilation  ot 
persiinal  rights,  th'-  abu-e  of  authority,  the  u-e  ot  threats 
and  taNe  detention,  the  inllictioii  ot  phv-i<  al  i>anis 
-ii'  ii  barba!'<iUs  practi-'c-s  all  bear  v.rne-  to  il.c  1«>\\ 
!  e  \  e  j  1 1 1  our  i  r  i ;  1 1 1 ; ;  \  \  <  i  \  i  1  /  a '  1 1 1  ii .  "  Mr.  | .  i  . .  d  e  I  •>  e«  k  e  r 
nl  N"ok"I:al.i.i,  the  Create  t  a:;thont\  0:1  JajiaiK  -<•  lau. 
aid  :  1  he  jiri.i  iliatoi  -U-  •  ecds  'it  'in-  error-,  (it  iiie 

|M)||ie,    a:ni     the     |;i'lxe      to    tii^-e    o|     ihe    procurator." 

it    il'i      J'.sd.'/-      U'-je    Hid-  vrndent.    (\jrii    ;i    cd.    and    edu- 
(aiiil    tip".    \\(.;ili    !>••   able    t>   pin    the    pi  i »,  ur  aa»i  -    ;n    their 

pice       all'i     ke«   p    tin  111    t  h<   I  e.    \>\;\    Ulltol  1  U !  l.i' el  ].     ilie    Iitollli 

..!     :!,.     adniu.i  •'.  i  at:\  e    -\-.:>m    :n     I-HJ    u.(      uuli.-ed    b\ 

the      !';.,•  ui'alor   «  ,e!ir-ial     tn     I-  ino\  e     lioni     i  ;;n  e     al!      (lie 

'•:,•    m- ii,    u!."i    were    bint    nn    leloini.1       \\li.t;    i< 


tii-     at  )'  11:1:111-  U    "t    men   nt    .  du>  a!l'  •: 


SOCIAL  CONDITIONS  537 

found,  pay  them  properly.  Fancy  a  judge  of  the  High 
('ourt  only  getting  C  300  per  .iiinuin  !  If  government 
officials  arc  properly  paid  the  principal  incentive  to  cor- 
ruption will  l>r  removed.  The  sight  of  a  judge  holding 
up  two  fingers  to  signify  that  lie  will  only  give  a  favour- 
able verdict  in  return  for  Y 2,000  is  not  edifying,  not 
was  the  bad  language  he  used  (in  open  court)  when 
he  only  got  two  hundred.1 

There  is,  among  the  judges  on  the  criminal  side,  a 
total  absence  of  moral  and  intellectual  qualifications. 
Their  verdicts  show  no  relation  between  evidence  and 
judgment.  As  Mr.  Walter  Den  ing  has  well  said,  they 
have  no  idea  of  logic,  and,  in  addition,  their  independence 
is  nominal,  not  real. 

In  relation  to  foreigners  all  proceedings  should  be- 
most  carefully  watched  by  our  diplomatic  officials,  and 
an  end  should  be  put  to  the  policy  of  subordinating  the 
rights  and  liberty  of  British  subjects  to  the  grand 
diplomacy  of  Downing  Street.  In  no  sphere  has  the 
Foreign  Office  shown  less  regard  for  its  supposed  principles 
than  in  the  manner  in  which  it  has  sacrificed  individuals, 
whether  it  be  in  Japan,  Mexico,  or  cKcwhere.  In  Japan, 
in  particular,  no  foreigner  has  a  possibility  of  justice 
or  fair  trial  unless  he  receives  the  firmest  support  from 
his  government,  and  it  is  poor  satisfaction  for  the  victim 
to  receive  unofficial  letters  that  '  the  Japanese  officials 
have  been  guilty  of  a  gross  breach  of  faith,'  as  Sir 
Claude  MacDonald  wrote  in  connection  with  such  a  case 
in  1913. 

The  principal  additions  to  the  Japanese  Kmpire  since 
the  career  of  expansion  began  are  Formosa  and  Korea. 
Their  products  are  sugar,  camphor,  ginseng,  and  con- 
spiracies, all  of  which  are  government  monopolies. 

The  colonial  administration  has  taken  as  its  model 
the  German,  following  in  this  the  example  set  in  the 
Diet,  the  police,  the  army,  the  law,  and  education  in  Japan 
Proper.  It  may  be  that  the-  failure  which  has  resulted 
is  due  to  its  prototype,  or  it  may  be  owing  to  Japanese 
1  Official  Cni-illt',  Diet  Proceeding,  February,  191^. 


338  JAl'AN    AT    THF    CROSS    ROADS 

characteristics  tln-rnvh-es.  Anyhow,  whichever  it  is,  no 
change  is  likely  to  result,  for  Mr.  Sakata,  Director  of 
tin-  Commercial  Bureau  of  the  Foreign  Ot'fice,  who  was 
sent  to  Kiao-chou  to  report  on  tin-  C»erman  system. 
cam<-  back  more  enamoured  of  it  than  ever,  and  said 
that  Japan  had  much  to  learn  from  the  (Germans  m  tin- 
art  of  administer;!);-;'  colonies.  It  is  certainly  true  that 
they  have  much  to  learn  on  the  colonial  question,  but 
whether  they  will  learn  it  from  the  (iermans  remains  to 
be  -ecu.  Kiao-chou  \sa^  a  handsomely  suhsidi/ed  com- 
mercial agency,  and  apart  from  any  military  or  naval 
importain  e  \\h:c!i  Korea  and  I  ormo-a  may  ha\  c  ;!n- 
same  definition  exactly  describes  them  also. 

Whether  or  noi  I-'ormo-a  is  a  pa\in^  property  is  e\- 
ireiii'-ly  doubtful.  Tin-  Budget  is  <  onducted  on  similar 
lines  to  that  o(  Japan,  and  has  tin-  -aim-  mystification  about 
it.  I'robably  th'-  surplus  should  rank  as  a  deficit.  Korea, 
anyhow,  is  franklv  unprofitable.  About  both  countries 
it  is  difficult  to  ---I  information,  e\o-p;  through  i;o\crn- 
niental  sources,  and  that  mu-t  be  regarded  a>  tainted. 
In  both  ci'loni'-s  I'n  s  ceiisoi  -hip  is  \-ery  strict.  I'racti- 
iail\-  tin  \\hole  colonial  administration  is  in  the  hands 
of  tin-  C|).»-hu  clan.  a'id  tin-  is  par;  ii  ulat'ly  the  case  in 
K'.;-.t  and  K wantu;:i;'.  uln<h  are  the  military  outposts 
of  |.i;.an  f'ropi  r.  !•  or  th--  nM  Japanese  interests  are 
la!:;<l\  in  th'-  hand-  o|  -'-iir-nin  lal  coin  erns.  The  South 
Mail' liurian  Kaibva\  hn-iall;.  run-  Kuantun;.^  and  tin- 
Manihunan  Railway  /one.  I'he  <>ne:;tal  (  oloni/ation 
Coni;iar:\  is  su[>reme  in  KOI- a.  \i.  hd-t  th'-  In  a\  i!\  sijbsi- 
di/'-d  -a.'ar  •  oinp.riies  an  I  th'-  <  amphor  monoj>ol\  manage 
iii  mi -maiia^e  I-'oniin  i.  ll,>-  t\'.n  loiin-i  ii'incriis  \\ere 
<  'alii:  !.  d  in  i  in-',  and  aie  lontrolled  i-ntireh  b\  the 
Tok\o  a'ltlmnri'  <M  tl;--  So:::h  Man'huiian  Raduax 

It     1-     UIlII'-i  e -s,ir\     to     Uilt'-     here.     e\i  epl     'o       a',      that     It     ha- 

;c.;;it  K;>  an  e!!o:ni"U  bu  i;:e-s  thn'U.dn*  M  Man<h.ni.i, 
(o  fb--  •-•-.-  hi  ;o-i  .  1 1  r\i-r  \  oth'-r  i  oun'r\ ,  and  b\  !  •  <t ;  o\\  in.; 
i  !;-aj'  niojic-.  on  :!.  I  c.  ;,i!i  niaiket  i»:i  de.'ii-ntuie-  it 
!~  til--  l'-\'-i  t''I  [ajMln  i-  ad\  atii  <  nienl  and  mono|iol\ 
in  N"ith  (  'Inna.  and  ha-  ie  entl\  had  tiand<rred  to  it 


SOCIAL   CONDITIONS  339 

the  management   of   the  Japanese   interests   in   Shantung, 
acquired   by    the   capture  of   Tsingtau. 

The  Oriental  Colonixation  Company  was  created  for 
the  pur|x)se  of  introducing  Japanese  into  Korea  to  settle 
on  the  land.  It  received  a  government  sub-idy  of 
Y^oo.ooo  per  annum,  until  such  time  as  a  dividend  ot 
«S  per  cent,  is  declared.  Its  programme  at  the  outlet 
was  to  transfer  100,000  Japanese  annually  to  Korea,  to 
provide  them  with  land,  money,  implement-,  etc.,  and  in 
general  to  develop  the  country  on  much  the  same  line- 
as  the  South  African  Company  developed  Khode-ia.  So 
far  the  whole  scheme  has  been  a  disastrous  f.iilure,  and 
has  only  trans{x>rted  less  than  2,000  families.  The  land 
acquired  by  the  company  has  been  obtained  by  forced 
sales  from  the  Korean  owners,  and  has  been  foisted  on 
Japanese  immigrants  at  profits  of  from  300  to  500 
per  cent.  The  property  is  extremely  badly  adminis- 
tered, and  the  greatest  dissatisfaction  has  been  caused, 
not  only  amongst  the  Koreans,  but  amongst  the  Japanese. 
Instead  of  the  company  loaning  cheap  money,  it  charges 
from  S  to  17!  per  cent.,  plus  first-class  expenses  for 
the  company's  officials  engaged  in  the  transaction.  The 
methods  of  the  company  may  be  gauged  from  its  refusal 
to  loan  more  than  25  per  cent,  of  the  purchase  value 
of  land  bought  from  itself.  The  loaning  department 
costs  Y.jo,ooo  per  annum  in  salaries,  and  has  only 
Yj>, 000,000  out  on  loan.  The  salaries  and  allowances 
of  the  President,  Vice-president,  and  tour  Directors  total 
^'T^TV  IH>r  annum,  which  is  Y 30,000  more  than  the 
salaries  of  the  ( iovernor-Cieneral  and  the  live  heads  of 
the  Korean  Administration.  The  officials  are  provided 
with  residences  at  the  cost  of  the  company,  and  the-e  are 
the  most  palatial  in  the  country.  The  directors  of  the 
company  have  the  reputation  of  being  capable  of  waiting 
more  money  in  a  given  time  than  any  other  body  in  the 
Kmpirc.  The  high  official-  have  a  penchant  for  good 
living,  and  their  wining  and  dining  is  .spoken  ot  \\ith 
bated  breath.  It  is  needless  to  remark  tha:  the  lower 
officials  do  not  -hare  in  the  luxuries,  a  cause  ot  misfeasance 


340  JAPAN    AT   THK    CROSS    ROADS 

and  corruption.  The  President  draws  Y  i  S  per  day  for 
hotel  expenses  when  travelling,  lower  ofViciaN  V^.^o, 
and  a  Cabinet  Minister  in  Japan  Vi2.' 

That  corruption  is  rid-  throughout  the  colony  i--  widely 
alleged,  anil  the  numerous  cases  which  have  come  to  light 
confirm  the  statement.  .When-  there  is  .in  'inefficient  and 
jxjorly  paid  bureaucracy,  with  a  defenceless  race  to 
plunder,  there  must  result  the  most  unhappy  conditions. 
I  have  already  referred  to  the  famous  Korean  Conspiracy 
ca-e.  It  provided  abundant  evidence  of  the  tyranny 
and  cruelty  exercised  by  the  authorities  over  the  natives. 
A  well-known  missionary  \\orking  uj)-country  told  me  : 
You  can  have  no  idea  of  the  reign  of  terror  which 
exists  in  parts  of  Korea.  The  polite  ami  gendarmerie 
are  absolutely  supreme,  and  nobody  dares  to  <|uestion 
their  authority.  Men  and  wom'-n  disappear  from  their 
villages  at  night,  and  it  is  impossible  to  learn  about 
them.  Sometimes  they  conu%  bark  as  mysteriously,  and 
examination  s<»(in  shows  that  they  have  been  under  secret 
detention,  and  often  torture.  Their  lands  and  properties 
are  expropriated,  and  the  compensation  they  ultimately 
receive  i^  far  b'-Iow  the  true  value." 

hi  Formosa  tilings  are  no  better.  F.ver  sjn,  ,-  i,X<j; 
the  authorities  ha\e  been  engaged  in  sulxlumg  the 
aborigine-,  and  it  does  not  speak  highl\  for  t!ie  i  olomal 
admini-tiation  that  the  \\oik  i-  not  \et  tompleted. 
A-  c'lrding  to  a  s'ap  ni<  nt  made  by  Mr.  l\.i:ne\  ania.  Su|>rr- 
intendent -( ieneral  ol  l''ormo-a  1'nliie  on  (anuars  i'», 
1015,  the  Imal  operations  again-t  the  abnrigines,  as 
planned  in  loio.  were  to  >i>-\  Y  I  ^.000,000,  and  be 
•  on<  luded  in  t'u'e  years.  In  th 
s\hi'li  h,i\e  since 
rn<  n,  and  the  - 

money  ha\  ing  iieeii  all  r\peijded.  The  <)tii;ii  .•!>.,////. 
i  ommenting  OM  i''ormo<an  inndition-.,  -aid  :  "As  the 
re  ult  Mt  ii'-arl;.  a!l  tlr-  money  h.ixing  bi-'-ri  [><-nt.  the 
<Hi'..r:iin  n'.-<  ieneral  ha-  Iran  tej:el  :h.-  \'.  ork  to  the 
\<><  al  government-,  pretending  that  thin-  i-  no:  mu<  h 

'    (..'/':  Hi'  A''/    '!.  Align   !,   n^i  :  ;     >.;/.:»;  I  V:;,>n;  l(.  \\\t'\\^\  .•<),   i<ji  ;. 


SOCIAL  CONDITIONS  341 

left  to  do.  Hut  matters  are  not  really  like  this,  and  the 
alleged  subjugation  ha->  not  taken  place.  The  aborigines 
are  as  dangerous  as  they  ever  were,  and  the  country  is  as 
inaccessible  to  us." 

The  pi. in  now  being  followed  is  not  one  of  subjuga- 
tion, but  of  extermination.  The  savages  are  driven  into 
areas  circumscribed  by  wires  heavily  charged  with  elec- 
tricity. Tnx>ps  are  then  passed  into  this  area,  and 
shoot  down  the-  aborigines,  whilst  any  of  the  latter 
who  attempt  to  escape  are  killed  by  the  electric 
current. 

The  aboriginal  campaign  is  certainly  the  most  difficult 
the  Japanese  government  has  ever  undertaken,  but  when 
it  is  remembered  that  the  forces  of  the  two  parties  are  in 
the  proportion  of  10,000  Japanese  to  300  savages,  it 
is  difficult  to  understand  the  non-success.  This  seems 
to  have  arrived  since  the  attempt  to  subjugate  the  mountain 
tribes,  who  are  devoted  head-hunters  and  better  fighters 
than  the  lowlanders. 

The  treatment  of  the  Formosnns  by  the  Japanese  is 
similar  to  that  of  the  Koreans.  As  Formosa  is  the 
principal  source  of  sugar-cane  available  to  Japan,  a 
policy  of  land -expropriation  has  been  conducted  in  the 
interests  of  Japanese  merchants  and  sugar  mills.  The 
compensation  paid  is  about  10  per  cent,  of  the  real 
value  of  the  land,  and  in  cases  where  land  itself  is  not 
sei/.cd,  the  villages  are  forced  to  grow  cane  and  sell 
it  to  the  mills  at  prices  fixed  by  the  authorities,  which 
are  considerably  below  co>t,  let  alone  market  price. 
I'nder  such  condition.-  unreal  i-  bound  to  occur,  and  then 
the  police,  the  gendarmerie,  and  the  petty  officials  get 
their  chance.  A  petition  from  Formosa  to  the  Tokyo 
Barristers'  Association,  said  : 

'  The  prevailing  condition  in  Formosa  is  that  the  live- 
and  property  of  Formo-ans  are  wholly  at  the  mercy  of 
policemen  and  other  official-  of  the  lovve-t  grade.  On 
simple  charges  of  gambling  human  lives  have  been  lo-t 
through  torture.  Torture  i-  inflicted  not  only  on  the 
guilty,  but  equally  terribly  on  the  innocent.  Over  three 


342  JAPAN    AT   THE   CROSS    ROADS 

million  Formosans  are  groaning  under  the  vilest  kind 
of  administration."  The  details  of  the  cruelties  inflicted 
on  the  Formosans  are  simply  too  sickening,  ami  their 
truth  has  been  put  on  record  by  the  report  of  the  Tokyo 
Barristers'  Commission,  to  which  I  have  previously 
referred. 

It  is  conditions  such  as  the  authorities  have  provoked 
which  give  rise  to  the  numerous  so-called  conspiracies 
in  lx)th  Korea  and  Formosa,  and  which  are  opportunities 
for  the  extermination  of  those  who  dare  to  protest  against 
official  despotism.  If  a  Korean  makes  a  speech  in  a 
public  place  it  is  sedition,  and  for  his  hearers  con- 
spiracy. If  a  Formosa!!  refuses  to  sell  his  land  it  is 
rebellion. 

The  following  is  an  account  of  the  conditions  which 
create  the  daily  conspiracy  in  Formosa,  and  was  written 
by  a  foreign  resident  of  the  island  for  1  he  Japan 
Ctifonicle. 

'The  other  day  I  called  on  a  Formosan  friend.  He 
\sas  mourning,  like  many  others  nowadays,  the  fact  that 
lie  was  forced  to  sell  the  bulk  of  his  land  and  houses. 
True,  he  got  the  full  fa-c  value  for  his  land,  as  noted 
in  hi-  deeds,  but  he  did  not  wish  to  sell  and  had  to. 
That  was  hi-,  grievance.  He  also  told  me  of  some 
curious  practices  which  he  asserted  to  be  facts.  lie 
had  a  piece  of  land  which  was  needed  tor  more  or 
le-s  official  purposes.  The  authorities  fixed  the  price 
at  Yi.~o  per  tsuho.  and  ordered  him  to  clear  away 
his  belongings.  Ills  next  neighbour,  a  fapaiicse.  got 
Y  ;  p-T  t^nho  for  land  exact  lv  similar.  Anoiher  item, 
lie  -aid  :  "  A  |apa:;e-e  bu\s  land  iiom  a  Formosa!! 
,i'  -a'.  \  40.  lie  registers  ;he  price  on  the  dee. I  at  ten 

01    tWenr,     tune,   the  amount.        in    a     -hurt    time    the   e\pei  led 

happen-.       Ill--   authorities   inform   him   In-   laud    i-   needed 

fol     oll.c   lal     purposes      and     request     him     to       tale    the    price 
ii  i  i 

.it     whi<!l     lie     J -,     Willing'    to     sell.          lie     leplle-     that.     a        It     Is 

fro  hi>rn>  r-nh!i('i>t  h>-  i>  williu.;  to  -,a<  ntn  ••  hi-  piopeitv 
.it  (!]••  la-  e  vahl'-  ot  lu>  deed-.,  \\ith  a  verv  hill-'  abided 

.1       Jlitele.f     oil     1m     IlloIleV,     seeing    lie     ha-.     li<'t     had     tlllie     to 


SOCIAL  CONDITIONS 

earn   anvll.inK  on    ">"   «!**>   "I*™1"1-   ,  '!''    "7  ,!,';„ 
Io       or   live  hundred   y,n   for  property    whu  '«   •  -      "» 

M,    I 


a 


!     Not  only  M,,  I 


a    publ,c-,,>mu,l    nun    anxious    fur    ll,-    «vlfar, 
districi  and  tin-  nation."  .       .   , 

•!!„-    fa,n<H,s    ,,,nspira,-y    uf    '  Kolt;;n  July. 

,     .„.„.,.   as   follows.      The   ,-xiK-Jili  .....   W"-«      ; 
c,  are  acco,npani,.l   l,>    ->!„.  '--'-  h 


,    .„ 

ho.lird    iiu-ii    Ix-twvrn    tin-    a^'-    "'     -  ?    •""  .'. 

,,,!,<•,  station,  ami  il»-  ..«'..  »f  .™  ''  f"  I.»"-»»M 
;  -  ,     for     he   p.»t   of   bearer       This   man    rccciv,-. 

«' 


who 

toruiR'il  and   imprisoned. 

Thc    whole    basis    of    Japam,  - 

Colo,lics  are  considere.l  onl>    as  o,,n  ,s.   ,„..-- 

•"""  '; 


344  JAPAN    AT   THE   CROSS    ROADS 

domination  by  the  destruction  of  nationalities.  Justice 
is  injustice,  administration  is  maladministration,  authority 
is  tyranny.  The  reforms  that  Japan  has  initiated  are 
merely  spectacular,  and  the  wrongs  she  has  committed 
cannot  be  expiated  by  the  elegance  of  her  official  build- 
ings and  the  construction  of  a  few  railroads  and  tele- 
graphs. The  colonies  by  Rescript  of  the  Meiji  Tenno 
ought  to  enjoy  the  same  rights  and  privileges  as  Japan 
Proper,  but  the  mo^t  thorough  work  the  Colonial  Office 
has  yet  accomplished  has  been  the  stultification  of  that 
Rescript.  The  Asahi,  commenting  on  colonial  adminis- 
tration, said  :  "  The  Japanese  authorities  have  disgrace- 
fully neglected  their  duties.  They  are  wolves  and  tigers, 
taking  advantage  of  their  official  position  to  outrageously 
destroy  the  rights  of  the  people  subjected  to  them." 
The  ////  Sliimpo  said  :  "  Nothing  can  more  quickly 
lose  Japan  her  prestige  than  a  continuance  ot 
the  savagery  which  disgraces  our  administration  in 
Formosa." 

Count  Okuma  might  well  forget  the  500,000,000  in 
India  and  think  of  the  3,000.000  in  Formosa  groaning 
under  Japanese  oppression.  Hut,  as  Dr.  Sawayanagi 
has  pointed  out,  it  is  the  most  lamentable  ol  Japanese 
i  harat  teri-tii  -  that  thcyha\e  "no  moral  courage  to  help 
those  who  are  down,  or  to  siipjMirt  those  who  are  oppressed, 
though  they  have  the  physical  courage  to  kick  the  we.tk 
and  the  defenceless." 

As  to  th"  <  oloni/ing  ability  of  the  individual  Japanese 
it  is  of  doubtful  qualitv.  A>  a  solution  of  the  population 
problem,  the  coloni/alion  of  extra-Japanese  possessions 
is  a  f.iilurr.  1  lie  Japanese  dors  not  want  to  ;;o  awav 
to  stay  away.  He  wants  only  to  make  money  and  then 
to  return  hum'-.  l.e>s  than  ioo.<>oo  have  gone  to  Korea, 
.i'id  le-s  than  >.oo'>  to  I'onnosa.  1  hey  are  unable  to 
make  t hein-el\,  e ,  a  hom<-  fiom  home,  and  the\  arc  in 
i  ap.ible  ot  th--  haul  pioiiei'i  ing  work  whi«h  <ol<»ni-'. 
inu^t  endure.  ('Innate-,  that  aie  too  hoi  are  unbearable, 
ami  (  ti'dei  (Innate,  m-ulN-i  ai  >\<-.  In  the  Hokkaido  there 

room    for    another     ;. ooo.ooo,    but    r\rn    the    bounties 


SOCIAL  CONDITIONS  345 

offered  to  immigrants  thither  fail  to  attract.  The  mental 
attitude  of  the  Japanese  to  the  subject  races  invariably 
takes  the  form  of  lordship,  and  not  of  assimilation,  and 
it  is  a  rarity  for  a  Japanese  to  develop  an  adaptability  to 
the  point  of  marriage  with  other  races. 


CHAPTKR    KIGI1T 
RELIGION 

IF  I  refer  shortly  to  the  problem  of  religion  in  Japan, 
it  is  not  because  I  have  the  slightest  claim  to  be  an 
expert  on  religious  matter-,  but  because  during'  the  period 
covered  by  my  stay  in  that  country  a  peculiar  interest 
arose  in  the  religious  question,  owing  to  the  Conference 
of  the  Three  Religions  called  by  the  Home  Office  in 

1912. 

The  reader  who  has  had  the  patience  to  [XTuse  these 
chapters  so  far  will  have  noted  that  at  the  time  of  the 
accession  of  tin-  Saiunji  Cabinet  the  conditions  of  the 
masses  were  very  deplorable.  whilst  on  the  other  hand 
the  aristocratic  and  comnienial  cla>-es  were  rapidly  fall- 
ing vi'tim-  to  egoism,  arrogance,  and  extravagance.  It 
was  out  ol  this  -ta'e  of  affair-,  that  the  Kotoku  plot  arose. 

The  (  onspiracy  o!  K<>;oku  and  hi^  fellow-  ga\e  the  <  abmet 
and  the  <ienr<»  a  very  s<\ere  shuck,  and  more  Japonictt, 
failing  to  n-cogni/e  that  the  blame  to  a  great  extent, 
at  .ill  events.  u.is  really  on  their  own  shoulders.  they 
ascribed  it  to  a  degeneration  <>\  moral  \irtue  amongst 
the  nation.  Ju-t  a>  they  ieni|.oti/ed  with  the  etor.onu 
di-tres-,  by  rec  omni'-nding  the  n  \i\al  of  tlie  \momi\a 
dot  1  1  me  -,  -o  the\  sought  to  P  in-ta'e  inoi  a  I  it  y  by  a  re\  i\  al 


that   \  i-   i  n:n!   1  1  irata,  then  .Ministci  i-l  I  lonii-  Atlaii  >,  is-ued 
^•«  rei     mstrii'tion«     :hat     the     xihool    ilnldien     -hn'iM     be 

ottl     I.  til',     •  MTldUi   'e   1     t'i    the     .|l!l!ie,    and    i'e    made    tn    \\  o  I   -hip 

tli>-    goih    on    iivd    I--  !i\al-    throughout    the    year. 

\\iie'liei    01    not    tin-,    re.'imi-iit    n|    religion    \sa^    un<  on 


RELIGION  347 

stitutional,  as  was  alleged  by  the  Christian  communities, 
there  is  no  doubt  that  it  was  perfectly  futile  as  a  measure 
to  check  immorality  or  to  deepen  patriotic  feeling. 
Ostentation,  corruption,  sexual  immorality,  were  the  visible 
signs  of  a  deterioration  in  public  manners  which  had 
reached  a  point  which  even  Japanese  writers,  who  are 
by  no  means  squeamish,  hesitated  to  describe. 

When  a  few  months  later  the  Katsura  Cabinet  resigned 
and  Marquis  Saionji  came  into  jxnver,  official  circles 
were  still  perturbed  and  looking  around  for  some  means 
of  salvation  from  the  dangerous  thoughts  which  were 
spreading  in  the  country.  Marquis  Saionji  is  by  no 
means  imbued  with  the  theory  of  the  Imperial  divinity 
nor  with  Neo-Shinto.  It  is  doubtful  if  any  Japanese 
statesman  is,  but  the  Mikado-worship  and  its  corollaries 
are  utilized  by  them  as  a  convenient  cover  for  their  own 
political  manoeuvres,  and  its  danger  arises  from  the  in- 
ability of  the  common  people  to  distinguish  between  what 
the  statesmen  believe  and  what  they  appear  to  Ix-lieve. 
Nevertheless  he  recognized,  probably  under  influence  from 
higher  quarters,  the  necessity  of  doing  something  to  im- 
prove moral  conditions,  and  accordingly  agreed  to  a 
proposal  of  Mr.  Tokonami,  the  Vice-Minister  for  Home 
Affairs,  who  had  just  returned  from  a  trip  abroad,  during 
which  he  had  been  much  struck  by  the  connection  between 
religion  and  education.  His  scheme,  which  was  remark- 
ably ingenious,  was  to  utilixe  the  three  great  religions 
of  Japan— Shinto,  Buddhism,  and  Christianity — to  influ- 
ence and  improve  the  civil  conditions  of  the  country. 
For  the  purpose  a  conference  of  the  three  religions  was 
to  be  called,  so  that  the  various  sects  might  be  able 
to  discuss  the  matter  and  clear  away  all  misunderstandings 
before  a  cut-and-dried  scheme  \\as  laid  before  the  l)iet . 
The  following  was  the  official  pronouncement  issued  by 
the  Vice-Minister  in  January,  1912.  and  was  produc- 
tive of  no  small  debate  both  within  and  without  tin- 
country  : — 

(  i  )    That  it  i>  desirable  to  effect  the  union  of  Religion 
and    the    State,    and    elevate    the   dignitv   of    religion,    and 


343  JAPAN    AT   THE   CROSS    ROADS 

cultivate  in  the  people  at  largo  a  spirit  of  respect  towards 
religion. 

"  In  their  excessive  zeal  for  the  substitution  of  all 
existing  institutions  by  new  ones  the  people  of  the  Re- 
storation clays  unavoidably  committed  the  error  of  destroy- 
ing '  both  gem  and  stone.'  Not  a  few  Buddhist  temples 
\sere  thus  destroyed,  and  since  then  the  general  respect 
and  veneration  for  the  Shinto  deities  and  the  Buddha  has 
markedly  deteriorated.  Christianity,  too,  in  those  days 
was  an  object  of  not  a  little  dislike  or  prejudice,  and 
had  but  a  small  share  of  public  attention,  but  its 
propaganda  is  now  being  freely  carried  on.  The  mere 
reflection  upon  these  facts  persuades  one  that  now,  more 
than  ever,  it  is  urgent  to  vest  in  religion  more  power 
and  dignity  than  it  has  hitherto  had.  It  si-ems  to  me  that 
the  cultivation  of  the  national  ethics  can  only  be  perfected 
by  the  co-operation  of  education  and  religion,  but  at 
present  secular  education  alone  forms  the  means  of  teach- 
ing morality.  .Without  the  association  iof  morality*  with 
its  sources,  such  as  (iods  Buddha,  or  Heaven,  it  will 
be  impossible  to  expect  the  .steady  development  of  fair 
and  equitable  ideas  among  the  people.  If  it  is  desired 
to  strengthen  the  basis  of  popular  morality,  it  is  essential 
that  religion  and  education  should  go  hand  in  hand.  h 
is  therefore  hoped  to  e!ie<t  the  union  of  the  tuo,  so  that 
they  may  as-ist  ea>  h  other  in  promoting  the  cause  <>t 
(xjpular  edu<  ation.  .Such,  ilien,  i-  the  reason  of  m\  earnest 
ui-di  for  the  union  of  State  and  Iv'hgion. 

'  <  2  i  That  it  is  also  de-iiai>le  to  render  more  intimate 
the  relation-  between  ih'-  varjou-,  schools  of  religionists, 
and  <  re. ite  out  ot  them  a  (on  e  that  uill  a--i-t  the  piogre  • 
of  the  nation. 

Nou.  I   .mi  of  opinion  that  th>'  fundament.il  [>im<  iple, 

of       ih'-      \.IIloll,      religions      ale      es, rill  I.I  II  V      idelitl'.ll    ;        bill 

-ei  in:1    th.it    \\li.it    .IP-    nowadays    regarded    .{ -    niot.il    juin 

•    l|    !e  .    .lie    i  on  -|.  lei  <•<  \     m    dlltelilit     lights    ol     .    I\(II     dltieielit 

inlet  pi  i-t,it  ion  s,  atiording  to  tim^  and  pl.t*  <•.  .nnl  ih.it 
the  ••  inti-i  jMi-t.ii  ion  -  .in-  undergoing  ion  t.m;  e\nlut!on, 
it  uould  «-<-m  advisable  for  .Shinioi-ni  and  l>uddhi  in 


RKUGION  349 

to  Occidentali/e  themselves  a  little.  l:[*>n  the  restora- 
tion of  the  Imperial  Family  to  power,  we  abandoned  the 
policy  of  seclusion  and  hostility  to  foreign  nations, 
adopting  instead  the  policy  of  the  '  open  door  '  and 
progressivcncss,  and  carried  out  thoroughgoing  reforms 
of  all  sorts  throughout  the  Kmpire,  drawing  near  to  the 
countries  of  Kurope  in  material  matters  at  least,  and 
striving  to  adapt  ourselves  to  the  spirit  of  the  world 
in  general,  with  the  result  that  we  have  made  progress 
by  rapid  strides.  This  example  should  be  followed  by 
Shintoism  and  Buddhism  in  striving  to  come  abreast  of 
the  progress  of  the  modern  world.  It  is  also  to  be  hoped 
that  Christianity,  discarding  its  policy  of  confining  itself 
to  a  certain  sphere  as  if  it  were  a  sort  of  colony  in  a 
foreign  country,  will  "aim  at  greater  success  by  adapting 
itself  to  our  national  Constitution,  and  being  careful  lo 
harmoni/e  itself  with  the  popular  sentiments  and  customs. 
Some  might  raise  objection  to  this  plan,  saying  that 
it  would  deprive  the  three  great  religions  of  their  dis- 
tinctive features.  But  Christianity  adapts  itself  well  in 
Hngland,  Germany,  America,  etc.,  to  the  peculiarities 
of  the  people  in  whose  country  it  finds  itself.  What 
reason,  then,  is  there  for  the  apprehension  that  the  Kuro- 
peanization  of  Shintoism  and  Buddhism  or  the  Japoniza- 
tion  of  Christianity  will  prevent  them  from  developing 
their  characteristics  as  the  modern  religions  of  Japan? 
"  It  is  my  most  earnest  wi^h  to  ?>ee  the  harmonization 
of  the  ideas  and  belief's  of  the  Occident  and  of  Japan 
thus  effected  in  our  spiritual  world.  It  is  with  tin- 
object  of  enjoying  the  benefits  of  the  civilization  of  the 
Occidental  countries  that  we  have  early  pursued  the  policy 
of  the  '  open  door,'  and  progress  in  our  politics  and 
economy,  and  a  similar  result,  I  am  persuaded,  is  capable 
of  realization  in  the  spiritual  world.  It  is  of  special 
importance  for  our  countrymen,  who  belong  to  a  different 
race  from  Occidental  people'-,  to  pay  due  attention  to 
this  matter.  It  is  true  that  the  terms  Yellow  and  White 
races  are  no  more  than  superficial  marks  of  distinction  ; 
still,  too  much  care  cannot  be  taken  in  harmonizing  the 


350  JAI'AN    AT    THK   CROSS    ROADS 

differences  of  sentiments  arising  out  of  this  dissimilarity 
in  colour.  And  how  much  more  care  should  be  taken 
to  avoid  differences  of  this  kind  in  spiritual  matters  ! 
The  right  way  of  conduct  is  one  and  the  same  everywhere, 
but  if  we  desire  to  participate  in  the  civili/ation  of  the 
world,  and  enjoy  its  benefits  together  with  other  coun- 
tries, we  can  no  more  afford  to  stand  alone  in  spiritual 
matters  than  in  |*>litical  and  economic  affairs.  I  con- 
sider it  one  of  the  grea'.est  missions  of  religionists, 
therefore,  to  co-ojx-rate  with  one  another  in  promoting 
the  cause  of  the  State  and  their  religion.  In  short,  \ 
hop-  to  see  religion  acquire  still  greater  authority  and 
dignity,  and  a  tendency  arise  among  the  people  in  general 
to  respect  religion,  .so  that  it  may  contribute  towards 
the  elevation  of  popular  morality,  and  that  Japan  may 
also  contribute  towards,  the  peace  and  civili/ation  of  tin- 
world  in  spiritual  affairs  as  well.  The  matter,  however, 
is  liable  to  arouse  the  misunderstanding1  of  the  public, 
while  there  is  no  saying1  that  it  may  not  even  cause 
misunderstanding  among  the  religionists  themselves.  It 
is  for  this  reason  that  I  de-ire  the  establishment  of  a 
full  mirua!  understanding  among  all  i  o:;cerned  before  the 
scheme  is  finally  put  into  effect.  Indeed,  what  I  have 
done  s<>  far  is  to  attempt  to  establish  <<>nn«-cnon  among 
ihe  various  «ects  and  religionists  with  this  end  in  view." 
Shinto  is  the  oldest  religion  in  Japan,  and  although 
it  fell  into  disreput--  -'tier  the  in: rodu>  lion  of  Buddhism, 
and  in  parti'  ular  afier  the  establishment  of  the  Shogunate, 
it  has  always  ri-m.ii:ied  assoi  i.t'e.l  uith  the  Imp-Tial  < 'ourt 

A-    [minted    (Hit     e|se\\  here,    the    Restoration    mo\eniellt     \\as 

fo-tered  by  the  Shinto  pri'  -N  with  the  definite  object  of 
uj--.cn  ing  the  |)re(lominance  of  the  Buddhists,  and  ob- 
taining for  th'-ni-ehes  die  n.  lies  and  g!or\  \\hich  the 
Shog:iM,  h.id  l,i\i  ln'l  on  the  latter.  Its  code  "I  ethitsi 
in  parti' u'ar  the  attention  paid  to  ancc  tor  wor>!np,  made 
it  e-peciall\  attraitive  \»  the  leader-,  of  th<-  !\e -torat  ion. 
a  it  foini'-d  an  e\i  •  IN-nt  nmial  ba-is  fi.r  the  jdilitnal 
end  uhl'h  they  had  irl  view,  the  I  e  >u  >  It  at  :••:  I  ot  the 
liiij«Tial  authoiit\.  \\h-n  the  Restoration  had  been 


KKLIGION  351 

accomplished,  Buddhism  was  disestablished  and  Shinto 
took  its  place,  being  acknowledged  a-,  the  national  religion. 
The  Japanese  statesmen  soon  rcali/ed,  however,  that 
Shinto  had  no  real  hold  on  the  people,  and  Buddhism, 
though  not  restored  to  its  former  predominance,  was 
officially  nvogni/ed,  and  is  to-day  without  doubt  Un- 
popular religion  of  the  country.  Shinto  labours  under 
the  difficulty  that  it  is  not,  and  never  can  be,  a  live 
religion.  In  these  days  of  progress  and  science  and 
inquiry  something  more  is  required  than  a  blind  obeisance 
to  the  dead  past.  Japan  may  or  may  not  have,  attained 
her  present  jx>sition  by  the  Imperial  virtues,  but  she 
certainly  docs  not  owe  it  to  the  worship  of  tin-  gods 
suggested  by  Viscount  Ilirata's  secret  memorandum  to 
the  school  teachers.  If  religion  is  to  be  an  inspiration 
to  progress,  rather  than  a  lip-service  to  patriotism,  then 
Japan  must  find  something  more  inspiring  than  the  rites 
of  Shinto,  which  neither  appeal  to  the  gladness  of  the  eye 
nor  the  agility  of  the  brain. 

Buddhism  was  first  taught  to  Japan  by  envoys  sent  by 
the  King  of  Pakche  in  return  for  military  assistance 
against  his  more  powerful  neighbours.  The  Japanese 
version  of  Buddhism  is  not  pure,  but  a  mixture  of  Korean 
and  Chinese.  In  its  early  days  Buddhists  underwent  a 
similar  persecution  to  the  Christians  under  leyasu,  and 
for  similar  reasons,  because  they  mixed  in  politics.  Never- 
theless, they  withstood  all  these  tribulations,  and  from 
the  sixth  to  the  seventeenth  century  Buddhism  flourished 
and  was  indeed  the  predominant  religion.  That  Buddhism 
should  have  spread  throughout  the  world  as  it  has  is 
not  surprising.  Its  high  philosophy,  its  beautiful  art, 
its  spirituality  and  its  founder's  saintly  lite  were  all 
jxiwerful  appeals  to  converts,  whil-t  its  doctrine  of 
mendicancy  had  something  compelling  in  Oriental  coun- 
tries, where  throughout  the  ages  the-  masses  have  always 
been  faced  with  want.  In  Japan,  in  addition,  it  had  a 
powerful  aid  to  proselytisin  in  tlv  patronage  of  the 
Shoguns. 

As    Buddhism    spread    in    Japan    it    deteriorated,    and 


352  JAPAN    AT   THE   CROSS    ROADS 

few  would  have  been  able  to  reconcile  it  with  the  creed 
of  its  founder.  Tim  was  the  complaint  of  the  critics  of 
the  eighteenth  and  nineteenth  centuries.  They  alleged, 
and  it  appears  with  truth,  that  every  tenet  of  Buddhism 
was  violated,  and  from  a  religion  of  jx>verty,  mendicancy, 
and  individualism  it  had  become  one  of  hierarchies,  riches, 
and  influence. 

The  fall  of  Buddhism  after  the  Restoration  did  some- 
thing to  check  these  evils,  but  of  recent  years  they 
have  been  revived,  and  have  passed  even  their  old  limits. 
The  Nishi-Hongwanji  scandals  of  i<;i4,  scandals  the 
discovery  of  which  had  been  postponed  for  a  few  years 
by  an  ingenious  course  of  fraud  and  forgery,  gave 
Buddhist  Japan  a  shock  from  which  it  will  not  easily 
recover.  The  revelations  of  the  Lord  Abbot's  extrava- 
gances, his  palace  on  Rokkosan,  his  imjxirted  furniture. 
In-  gardens,  his  motors,  his  travels,  his  explorations,  .ill 
paid  for  from  temple  fund-,  read  almost  like  a  tale 
from  the  Arabian  \:^fi(s.  ll\^  family  relationship  t<» 
the  Imperial  Hou-e,  In-  is  brother-in-law  to  the  pie-em 
Kmpre-s,  caused  his  per-onal  connection  \\ith  the  muddle 
in  the  tt-mple  finances  to  be  hushed  up,  but  his  ultimate 
responsibility  for  the  deficit  o(  Y  i  ^.ooo.ooo,  and  for 
the  immoralities  and  crimes  of  his  monk-  necessitated 
his  retirement  into  private,  life. 

Buddhi-m.  therefore,  at  the  present  time  is  at  a  low 
ebb,  at  lea>t  as  regards  the  more  official  sects.  The 
people  .ire  indi-poM-'l  to  give  their  money  to  temples 
v.here  it  will  be  frittered  away  in  extravagant  orgies 
or  embe//|ed  without  apology  by  the  monk-,  a-  in  the 
case  ot  the  At-uta  Temple  at  N.igoya.  <  Vrtain  other 
-(<(-,  however,  as  the  I'enrikyo  and  the  /en.  are  reap- 
ing the  beneh;  (if  the  e\i]>  iif  then  better-boin  con- 
temporaries, an<l  the  extraordinary  |>ro;.;re--  made  by 
the -••  lnim!)ler  .m<l  less  (Mentation-  Ixxiie-  and  the  great 
•urn-  donated  to  th<  m.  mo-tly  in  odeiing-  from  the 
lower  (  la--e-,  are  uitne^s  [«  the  hold  \\hiih  religion 

(.III      lia\e     nil      til''     people,      e\ell      t||O!I-||,         tlUllv      sj)e.lkillg, 

the    |a|ian<--e   are   not    a    reh.'ioiis   folk. 


RELIGION  353 

Confucianism  was  introduced  into  Japan  by  the 
Tokuga\vas,  but  never  arrived  at  the  dignity  of  being 
considered  a  religion.  At  first  it  was  of  a  Buddhistic 
flavour,  but  later  became  strongly  mixed  with  politics,, 
and  the  study  of  philosophy  to  which  it  led  had  much 
to  do  with  the  mental  training,  which  prepared  the  way 
for  the  Restoration.  It  never  attained  the  hall-mark 
of  popularity,  and  was  mostly  confined  to  the  upper 
classes  and  the  literati.  It  produced  some  brilliant 
scholars,  and  it  was  entirely  characteristic  of  the  Japanese 
that  they  did  and  do  claim  that  the  only  pure  Confucianism 
is  that  which  was  practised  in  Japan  during  the  latter 
half  of  the  eighteenth  and  the  beginning  of  the  nine- 
teenth century. 

Christianity  was  introduced  into  the  country  by  the 
Jesuits  in  the  seventeenth  century.  Owing  to  the  inter- 
vention of  the  priests  in  politics  it  was  sternly  repressed 
until  after  the  reopening  of  the  country.  Since  then 
the  work  of  conversion  has  been  persistently  undertaken, 
but  it  must  be  confessed  that  the  results  have  been  far 
from  good.  Over  two  millions  sterling  has  been  spent, 
and  over  two  thousand  missionaries  have  been  employed 
in  the  work,  but  the  number  of  professing  Christians 
is  very  small.  Of  the  individual  churches  the  Greek 
has  obtained  by  far  the  greatest  success,  especially  when 
it  is  remembered  that  the  Greek  congregations  are  the 
results  of  one  man's  labour.  The  late  Archbishop  Nicolai 
was,  until  within  a  few  years  of  his  death,  the  only  priest  of 
his  church  in  the  country,  but  he  had  secured  37,000 
converts,  nearly  all  of  whom  remained  faithful.  AYjth' 
Protestant  missions  the  result  is  very  different,  and  in 
only  too  many  cases  Christianity  is  a  means  to  an 
end,  a  knowledge  of  English,  and  the  pupil  reverts  to 
the  gods  of  his  country  as  soon  as  he  has  learnt 
sufficient. 

AVhilst  it  would  be  untrue  to  say  that  the  Japanese 
authorities  disapprove  of  Christianity,  it  must  be  admitted 
that  the  religion  lies  under  serious  disabilities,  which 
can  hardl  be  avoided  in  a  countr  where  reliion  has 


354  JAPAN    AT   THE   CROSS    ROADS 

mostly  the  character  of  an  abstract  and  impersonal  code 
of  morals. 

The  following  summary  from  an  article  in  the  Shinjin, 
by  Dr.  Ebina,  a  leading  Japanese  Christian,  reproduced 
from  The  Japan  Mail  review  of  current  religious  litera- 
ture is  of  considerable  interest  in  this  connection. 

"  Considering  the  amount  of  organization  that  exists 
and  tin.'  number  of  people  preaching  Christianity,  one 
would  be  led  to  supjxjse  that  it  should  be  making  very 
rapid  progress  in  the  country  ;  bir.  this  is  not  so.  It 
advances  very  slowly,  principally  on  account  of  the 
numerous  hindrances  to  its  acceptance  to  be  found  in 
the  Japanese  mind,  and  those  which  have  come  frurn 
W.esteni  sources.  To  take  the  hindrances  arising  from 
the  Japanese  mental  constitution  first,  it  is  true  to'  say 
that  both  the  strong  points  and  the  weak  points  in 
the  Japanc-c  character  militate  again.-t  the1  -pread  of 
Christianity. 

Now,  undoubtedly  patriotism  is  a  valuable  asset  to 
us  as  a  nation,  and  without  it  we  should  not  occupy  the. 
position  in  the  world  we  do  to-day.  Hut  this  patriotism 
is  accompanied  by  a  spirit  of  self-sufficiency,  self-con- 
ceit, insularity,  narrow-mindedness,  and  anti-foreign  feel- 
ing. There  arc  not  a  few  Japanese  who  imagine  that  we 
are  the  most  patriotic  jx-ople  in  the  world.  This  whole 
state  of  mind  is  a  serious  hindrance  in  the  way  ol  the 
acceptance  of  a  comparatively  new  foreign  religion  like 
Christianity.  Tin-  mass  of  the  Japanese  are  not  conscious 
that  there  is  anything  wanting  in  their  mental  make-up. 
They  look  with  supreme  satisfaction  on  what  they  have 
inherited  from  their  ancestors,  and  national  v.inity  leads 
than  to  think  that  whatever  has  conn;  from  abroad  has 
been  immensely  improved  by  the  Japanese,  who  have 
ini[x>r'ed  or  adopted  it.  They  say  that  Jap;uiese  Con- 
fuciani-m  is  infinitely  superior  to  Chinese  Confucianism. 
and  that  Indian  Buddhism  is  nowhere  compared  to 
Japanese  Buddhism.  Even  tine  art.  they  contend,  never 
underwent  elaeuhep-  such  development  as  has  been  wit- 
nessed in  Japan.  There  are  those  who  go  as  far  as 


RELIGION  355 

to  say  that  Japan  has  even  improved  on  the  constitutional 
government  known  in  the  \Vfcst.  This  state  of  supreme 
satisfaction,  with  what  they  have,  is  a  great  obstacle 
to  the  acceptance  of  Christianity  on  the  part  of  a  great 
many  of  our  people. 

"  To  turn  to  the  other  class  of  hindrances  to  the  spread 
of  Christianity,  there  is  no  denying  that  it  is  well  known 
to  our  reading  people  that  Christianity  no  longer  occupies 
the  place  of  pre-eminence  in  Western  lands  which  it 
filled  for  so  many  centuries.  Formerly  the  prevailing 
morality  was  Christian  morality.  Neither  education, 
politics,  philosophy,  nor  science  were  entirely  free  from 
Christian  control,  but  to-day  all  things  have  changed, 
and  from  Christianity's  controlling  the  whole  of  society, 
it  has  come  to  exercise  authority  over  only  a  very  small 
section  of  it.  (Scki/i  wa  shakwai  no  zcmbu  wo  tdji 
shite  otta  Kirisutokyo  ga  ima  ya  shakwai  no  ichi  s/iubu 
ni  kyokugcn  sararcn  to  sum  kciku  ga  mi y lira.)  It  has 
been  separated  from  literature,  it  has  Ixien  separated 
from  education,  it  has  been  separated  from  science,  and 
thus  it  stands  alone  to-day  in  a  somewhat  perilous  position, 
from  which  it  needs  extrication. 

"  Despite  their  natural  hostility  to  things  foreign,  our 
Japanese  people  warmly  welcome  the  anti-Christian 
thought  which  is  imported  from  abroad.  So  it  comes 
to  this,  that  we  have  external  iniluences  and  mental  pro- 
clivities, prejudices  and  weaknesses,  added  to  a  large 
amount  of  traditional  superstition,  all  combining  to  hinder 
the  progress  of  Christianity  in  this  country.  Christianity 
needs  to  supply  itself  with  the  very  best  weapons,  and 
to  use  them  most  vigorously  in  order  to  overcome  all 
the  formidable  obstacles  to  its  prevalence,  on  which  we 
have  touched  above." 

No  Japanese,  until  quite  recent  times,  has  paid  attention 
to  the  metaphysics  of  religions.  In  Buddhism,  Shinto, 
and  Confucianism,  as  practised  in  Japan,  there  is  only 
a  vague  conception  of  God,  and  no  concrete  idea  of 
either  the  creation  or  the  hereafter.  To  the  Japanese  all 
religions  are  merely  moral  maxims,  and  they  have  no 


356  JAPAN    AT   THE   CROSS   ROADS 

interest  in  the  theology  which  lies  behind  them.  Religion 
for  them  is  not  connected  with  a  future  state,  but  only, 
with  advancement  in  the  present.  The  attitude  of  the 
Japanese  towards  religion  is  exactly  that  of  a  young 
friend  of  mine,  who  was  going  up  for  a  scholarship 
at  ,\\>stminster  School.  He  stopped  for  the  period  of 
the  examination  at  an  hotel  in  Victoria  Street.  The  first 
morning,  before  breakfast,  he  announced  his  intention  of 
attending  early  service  at  the  Abbey.  "  .\VIhy,  Ralph, 
what's  the  matter?-'  said  his  mother,  very  astonished. 
"  Mother,"  he  replied,  "  you  know  the  exam,  begins  to- 
day— and  one  ought  to  leave  no  stone  unturned  1  "  I 
treasure  a  postcard  from  the  top  of  Fuji  from  a  Japanese 
friend  as  follows  :  "I  thank  you  sincerely  for  correct- 
ing my  brother's  English  essay.  I  have  come  up  to 
pray  for  his  success,  and  together  I  hope  we  shall  have 
achieved  it." 

I  remember  once  at  school  a  heated  discussion  as  to 
whether  it  was  right  to  pray  for  a  free-wheel  bicycle. 
A  Japanese  always  prays  for  material,  not  moral  benefits. 
A  burglar  or  a  murderer  generally  visits  a  shrine  before 
setting  out  on  his  nefarious  exploits.  There  are  plenty 
of  shrines  in  Japan  which  survive  only  from  their  con- 
nection with  (fci^fm,  prostitutes,  and  criminals,  who  evince 
a  particular  faith  in  th«'  gods  enshrined  there,  and  accord- 
ingly make  liberal  donations  out  of  their  earnings  ami 
takings  in  tin-  hope  of  favours  to  come. 

I  think  it  will  be  dear  from  this  that  Christianity 
must  present  inherent  diniculties  for  Japanese.  Again, 
these  latter  arc  essentially  a  light-hearted  pt-ople,  and 
they  like  their  religion  to  be  of  a  rather  siijwrlicial 
character,  and  certainly  do  not  wajit  any  creed  which' 
may  tend  to  solemnity  or  sanctimoniousness.  Religious 
observances  ^hould  be  of  a  festive,  not  of  a  solemn, 
nature. 

Captain  Brinkley  writes:  "  Religion  does  not  over- 
shadow the  daily  life  of  the  Japanese.  The  gl<x)iny 
fanatic  i>  unknown.  Confessions  of  sin,  rep«-ntan<e  in 
sarkcloth  aiid  a^he-.  --o],  nm  and  protracted  arts  of 


RELIGION  357 

worship,  the  terrors  of  an  eternity  of  tortures,  these  things 
scarcely  enter  into  the  layman's  existence.  The  festival 
may  indeed  be  called  the  popular  form  of  worship  in 
Japan  "  (History  of  Japan}. 

The  feature  of  all  religions  in  Japan  is  the  acceptance 
of  their  maxims  and  the  rejection  of  their  doctrines. 
Buddhism  appealed  directly  to  the  masses,  on  account 
of  the  excellence  of  its  morals,  but  its  supernatural  ism 
never  created  any  interest,  and  was  quickly  relegated  to 
the  storehouses  of  legend.  Confucianism,  confined  as  it 
was  to  the  gentry  and  the  scholar,  was  quickly  converted 
into  a  superior,  code  of  ethics,  easy  to  understand  and 
easy  to  follow.  Shinto,  the  official  religion,  was  in  the 
same  manner  transformed  into  a  creed  of  patriotism. 
The  history  of  religion  in  Japan  has  been,  to  a  great 
extent,  a  process  of  selection  and  harmonization.  In 
religion  strictly  so-called  the  Japanese  are  frankly 
agnostic.  Sceptics  to  the  marrow,  they  have  no  use  for 
the  complicated  theology  which  is  associated  with  all 
creeds.  They  want  the  results,  but  not  the  causes.  Pure 
Christianity,  whilst  they  approve  in  principle  of  its  ethics, 
cannot  meet  with  full  acceptance  because  its  very  source 
sets  up  a  divinity  greater  than  the  Emperor.  Christianity 
without  Christ  would  be  to  them  a  very  acceptable  belief. 

It  stands  to  reason  that  if  only  the  ethics  evolved  by. 
religion  are  recognized,  there  is  very  little  difference 
between  any  religions.  If  Shinto,  Confucianism,  Budd- 
hism, and  Christianity  all  preach  loyalty,  patriotism, 
honesty,  and  morality,  there  is  not  much  to  choose  between 
them,  provided  their  theology  is  left  out.  In  the  same 
way  new  religions  can  be  created  with  case,  and  accepted 
with  liberality  by  State  and  people,  as  has  been  done 
in  the  case  of  Tcnrikyo,  Hotoku,  and  other  beliefs.  It 
is  this  doctrinal  elasticity  which  has  permitted  the 
numerous  attempts  at  harmonization  of  religions.  As  I 
have  remarked  earlier,  compromise  is  a  prominent  charac- 
teristic of  the  Japanese.  They  compromise  in  social, 
financial,  and  political  matters  with  great  facility,  so 
long  as  '  face  '  is  not  lost.  It  is  the  same  with  religion. 


358  JAPAN    AT    THE   CROSS    ROADS 

There  have  been  numerous  attempts  to  harmonize  religion, 
Buddhism  with  Confucianism,  Shinto  with  Confucianism, 
Buddhism  with  Shinto  and  Confucianism,  and  now  in 
the  twentieth  century  we  have  had  an  official  attempt  to 
harmonize  Buddhism,  Shinto,  and  Christianity.  At  the 
time  when  Mr.  Tokonami's  proposal  was  made,  I  tele- 
graphed home  a  summary  of  the  same,  and,  commenting 
on  it,  I  pointed  out  that  in  most  of  her  adoptions  from 
abroad  Japan  had  managed  to  set  up  a  variety  of  her 
own,  and  in  the  event  of  the  adoption  of  Christianity,  we 
might  look  forward  to  a  variety  of  Christianity  adapted 
to  suit  local  requirements.  Nothing  that  has  hapjx'ned 
since  has  caused  me  to  alter  that  opinion. 

In  one  respect  the  Great  \V;ir  has  removed  a  serious 
Japanese  objection  to  Christianity.  They  have  always 
argued  that  Christianity  was  not  consistent  with  patriotism, 
and  they  have  now  seen  and  gladly  acknowledge  the 
reverse.  Although  Christianity  breeds  individualism,  in- 
dividualism is  as  capable  of  as  great  patriotism  as  State- 
worship. 

Signs  have  by  no  means  been  lacking  of  the  elasticity 
of  the  doctrines  of  th<-  Japane-e  Christians.  They  made  no 
protest  against  the  erection  of  a  shrine  to  the  Meiji  Tenno  ; 
they  approved  of  the  suicide  of  General  Nogi,  and  they 
were  most  satisfactorily  anti-American  during  the  crisis 
of  the  California!!  question.  On  the  other  hand,  Japanese 
are  perturbed  by  the  extraordinary  equanimity  with  which 
foreign  missionaries,  especially  Americans,  renegade  on 
their  own  country  in  moments  of  political  tension,  and 
they  argue  that  if  this  is  due  to  the  influence  of  their 
belief,  Christianity  cannot  prove  a  satisfactory  religion 
for  Japan  to  adopt. 

It  would  be  interesting  to  know  the  real  cause  of 
Mr.  Tokonami's  proposal.  I  imagine,  and  the  general 
opinion  in  Japan  was  in  agreement,  that  there  was  a 
political  motive  in  the  background.  The  country  had 
advanced  too  quickly,  too  materially,  and  the  Vice- 
Minister  was  preaching  an  Oriental  version  of 
Matthew  xvi.  20  :  "  For  what  is  a  man  profited 


RELIGION  359 

if  he  shall  gain  the  whole  world  and  Jose  his  soul?  " 
It  is  clear  from  the  official  pronouncement  that  some 
form  of  religion  was  regarded  as  necessary  to  the  pro- 
gress of  the  nation,  but  what  form  was  a  matter  of  com- 
plete indifference.  To  propose  an  amalgam  of  the  three 
religions  was  the  true  Japanese  touch  to  the  whole  affair. 

(Juitc  apart  from  the  doctrinal  side  of  the  cjuestion, 
the  scheme  was  interesting  as  a  slight  indication  that 
some  of  the  authorities  at  least  recognized  the  limitations 
of  Emperor-worship  ;  and  with  those  limitations  the 
futility  of  official  interference  with  ethical  codes.  Yet 
it  was  typical  of  the  bureaucratic  and  conservative  atti- 
tude that  this  indication  of  failure  was  signalized  by 
yet  another  attempt  at  dominating  public  opinion. 

The  Three  Religion  Conference  failed.  It  was  the  object 
of  attack  from  all  sides.  Commenting  on  the  proposal 
the  Osaka  Asa/ii  said.:— 

'  This  latest  scheme  of  the  Home  Office  has  none  of 
our  approval  from  any  point  of  view.  In  Japan  the  great 
change  of  government  at  the  time  of  the  Restoration 
.was  the  signal  for  the  separation  of  education  and  re- 
ligion, and  the  basis  of  our  national  ethics,  our  object  of 
education  was  clearly  set  forth  in  the  Imperial  Rescript 
on  Education,  so  that  with  proper 'men  in  the  educational 
profession  we  should  be  in  a  position  to  reap  better  or 
more  effective  results  than  even  European  nations  in 
the  cultivation  of  national  morality.  Recently,  however, 
all  sorts  of  new  ideas  have  been  swallowed  by  our 
countrymen  with  indiscriminate  eagerness,  with  the  result 
that  even  the  so-called  dangerous  thoughts  were  imported, 
and  the  minds  of  some  people  were  misguided.  But 
it  is  open  to  the  gravest  doubt  whether  the  appearance 
of  such  people  is  altogether  attributable  to  the  blunder 
of  the  educationists,  for  it  is  contended  in  some  quarters 
that  the  erroneous  policy  of  the  governing  class  was 
primarily  responsible  for  the  unfortunate  phenomenon. 

41  The  project  of  the  Home  Office  to  utilize  religion 
for  purposes  of  education  is  practically  an  endeavour 
to  make  the  world  more  backward  by  two  or  three 


360  JAPAN    AT    THE    CROSS    ROADS 

centuries.  The  idea  inay  meet  with  the  approval  of 
some  in  our  educational  world,  suffering,  as  it  is,  from 
a  sort  of  nervous  debility,  or  among1  modern  religionists, 
who  are  soaked  in  corruption  through  and  through.  But 
neither  true  educationists  nor  religionists  who  have  sincere 
faith  in  their  creeds,  will  ever  welcome  such  a  plan. 
Besides,  the  impracticability  of  the  harmonious  union  of 
different  religious  creeds  or  sects  is  amply  proved  by 
historical  facts.  The  adoption  and  utilization  for  edu- 
cational purposes  of  the  common  features  of  different 
religions  can  be  no  more  than  a  subject  for  academic 
discussion,  for  religion  will  vanish  when  the  various  creeds 
are  purged  of  their  distinctive  doctrinal  characteristics 
in  order  to  amalgamate  their  common  f  ram  res." 

The  scheme  did  not  receive  any  strong  support  officially, 
and  it  was  conveniently  explained  that  the  Vi<-c-Mini-ter 
represented  nobody  but  him-elf.  The  proposal  to  intro- 
duee  religion  into  education  rai-ed  a  s:or:n  of  opposition, 
in  which  the  Christian  communities  showed  themselves 
by  no  me, uis  backward.  The  Department  s'.ernly  denied 
that  tli-Te  was  any  intention  to  transfer  the  control  of 
religion-  from  the  Home  '<  Miice  to  the  Department  of 
Kdu<  ation,  but  the  official  nature  of  the  denial  was  clear 
enough  wh<-n  six  months  later  the  Bureau  of  Religions 
was  so  transferred.  Although  the  opposition  to  the  Horn-' 
Oilio-  -ehenv  was  siitiicient  to  kill  it.  the  idea  wa-  good. 
It-,  opponents,  whilst  osteiisi!)lv  baling  their  objections 
on  public  grounds,  really  were  inspired  by  fictional 
interests.  There  is  no  jealousy  so  bitter  as  that  ol 
religion-,  bodie^.  and  no  language  so  strong  as  that  ol 
religion ,  controversy. 

The  attitude  of  the  Christian  mis-ionaries  was  suin- 
ti!.an/ed  in  the  following  statement,  issued  by  l)r.  hnbrie, 
Bi-hop  I  lank  and  Mr.  ( lalen  Fidier  : 

'  The  public  anno'iix  '-ni'-nt  that  i:  i  the  purpo-r  nf 
the  Vi  e  Miniver  o|  llonie  Al'iaifs  to  hold  a  conference 
of  rej»re  ,e;itatr.e,  of  Shiiitoi-ni,  Buddhi-m.  and  <'hristi- 
anity  ha  -  au  .ik'-n.-.  1  \\ijf  intere-t.  It  .  oul  1  ii"t  1"  o'her- 
\vi-r.  But  atnon:'  th--  -lateiiient-  th.it  li.i\-e  at'i"'-»red  in 


RELIGION  361 

th'c  press,  there  are  some  which  have  been  written  without 
a  clear  knowledge  of  what  is  intended  ;  and,  in  order  to 
prevent  possible  misunderstanding1,  the  Vice-Ministcr  has 
sanctioned  the  publication  of  the  following  statement. 

'  (i)  U*he  primary  intention  in  holding  the  Conference 
is  to  direct  attention  to  religion  as  a  necessary  means 
to  the  highest  spiritual  and  moral  welfare  of  both  the 
individual  and  the  nation.  For  a  number  of  years  this 
matter  has  not  been  given  the  importance  that  properly 
belongs  to  it »;  and  the  primary  purjx>se  of  the  Conference 
is  to  reassert  that  importance. 

'•  (2)  No  attempt  is  intended  to  unite  the  adherents 
of  the  several  religions  in  one  bodyt;  still  less  to  establish 
a  new  religion.  Shintoism,  Buddhism,  and  Christianity 
are  all  religions ;  but  in  certain  important  particulars 
each  differs  from  the  others,  and  the  religious  convictions 
of  the  adherents  of  each  should  be  respected  without 
interference.  It  may,  however,  be  confidently  presumed 
that  Shintoists,  Buddhists,  and  Christians  alike  will 
cordially  recognize  a  responsibility  to  act  as  fellow- 
labourers  for  the  advancement  of  the  spiritual  and  moral 
interests  of  the  nation  to  the  utmost  of  their  ability. 

'  (3)  Shintoism  and  Buddhism  have  long  had  a  recog- 
nized place  as  religions  of  the  Japanese  people.  Christi- 
anity should  also  be  accorded  a  similar  place." 

The  support  of  the  scheme,  on  terms,  by  the  Christian 
missionaries,  was  sufficient  to  ensure  the  opposition  of  the 
Buddhists,  and  so  the  matter  was  withdrawn.  But  in 
certain  essentials  there  can  be  no  doubt  that  Mr.  Tokonami 
was  right,  and  especially  in  the  view  that  no  State  am 
prosper  without  religion.  1 1  is  corollary  that  no  religion 
can  prosper  without  the  State  does  not  follow. 

For  the  moment  the  future  religion  of  Japan  is  a 
matter  in  abeyance.  That  it  will  eventually  lie  a  modified 
form  of  Christianity,  blended  with  Buddhism  and  Shinto, 
I  do  not  doubt.  But  the  time  of  its  creation  is  yet 
far  off. 

The  decision  in  favour  of  the  new  religion  may  be 
expected  when  the  existing  Emperor  worship,  with  its 


362  JAPAN    AT   THE   CROSS   ROADS 

dependence  on  officialdom,  has  irretrievably  broken  down-; 
when  the  present  state  of  temporizing  is  ended,  and 
Japan  finds  herself  ready  to  part  company  with  Asia 
in  religious  matters,  and  to  exchange  her  present  system 
of  centralization  for  one  of  self-government  and  indi- 
vidualism. It  will  certainly  be  a  scientific  and  simple 
form  of  Christianity,  for  science  and  Christianity  are 
equally  new  to  Japan,  and  the  latter  lias  the  more  to 
recommend  it,  whilst  the  perplexities  and  complications 
of  .Western  theology  are  far  too  deep  for  the  Japanese 
brain  to  grapple.  A  nation  which  has  deliberately  shelved 
metaphysics  and  the  abstruse  problems  of  Eastern  beliefs 
is  in  no  way  ready  to  surmount  the  even  harder  obstacles 
of  Christianity.  i\\3ien  that  time  comes  we  may  look 
forward  with  confidence  to  Japan  demanding  the  right 
to  proselytize  for  her  own  blend  of  Christianity  in  the 
same  way  as  she  has  demanded  from  China  the  right 
to  preach  Japanese  Buddhism  in  the  Republic.1 

1  With  regard  to  this  demand  it  is  interesting  to  note  that  the 
Buddhist  Conference  in  1912  put  forward  a  demand  to  the  government 
for  the  obtaining  of  the  privilege,  and  that  the  Foreign  Office  expressed 
approbation  on  the  ground  that  the  missionaries  of  Christianity  were 
invariably  political  agents  as  much  as  religious  ones.  A  serious 
objection  to  the  Japanese  propaganda  is  not  only  its  doctrinal  diverga- 
tion  from  Chinese  Buddhism  but  its  approbation  of  assassination  for 
political  purposes. 


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